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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ROYAL MEEKER, Commissioner
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES\
(WHOLE O A 7
BUREAU OF L AB O R S T A T I S T I C S / ' ' ' (NUMBER L\J /
IN D U S T R IA L
A C C ID E N T S
AN D
H Y G IE N E
S E R IE S :
NO.
CAUSES OF DEATH
BY OCCUPATION
OCCUPATIONAL MORTALITY EXPERIENCE
OF THE METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY, INDUSTRIAL DEPARTMENT,
1911-1913: BY LOUIS I. DUBLIN, PH. D.
MARCH, 1917
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1917
11
A D D IT IO N AL COPIES
OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
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AT
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V
CONTENTS.
Page.
I ntroduction.............................................................................................................
5
I. Males...................................................................................................................... 7-65
Distribution of deaths, by occupation..............................................................
7-9
Principal causes of death in all occupations combined.................................. 8-17
Typhoid fever..............................................................................................
10
Tuberculosis of the lungs............................................................................ 10,11
Cancer (all forms)........................................................................................ 11,12
Diabetes........................................................................................................
12
Alcoholism...................*...............................................................................
12
Chronic lead poisoning................................................................................ 12,13
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis.........................................
13
Organic diseases of the heart...................................................................... 13,14
Acute and chronic bronchitis.....................................................................
14
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)............................................................. 14,15
Cirrhosis of the liver....................................................................................
15
Bright’s disease............................................................................................ 15,16
Suicide..........................................................................................................
16
Accidental violence.................. , ................................................................ 16,17
Average age at death, by cause, in all occupations combined...................... 17-19
Age distribution..................................................................................................
19
Mortality, by occupation................................................................................... 20-64
Bakers........................................................................................................... 20-22
Blacksmiths.................................................................................................. 23, 24
Cigar makers and tobacco workers............................................................. 24-26
Clerks, bookkeepers, and office assistants................................................. 26-28
Coal miners................................................................................................... 28-31
Compositors and printers.................................................•...........................31-33
Railway enginemen and trainmen............................................................ 33-36
Farmers and farm laborers.......................................................................... 36-38
Iron molders................................................................................................. 38-41
Laborers........................................................................................................ 41-43
Longshoremen and stevedores.................................................................... 43-45
Machinists.....................................................................................................46-48
Masons and bricklayers............................................................................... 48-50
Painters, paper hangers, and varnishers................................................... 50-52
Plumbers, gas fitters, and steam fitters......................................................53-55
Railway track and yard workers............................................................... 55-57
Saloon keepers and bartenders...................................................................57-60
Teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs............................................................ 60-62
Textile-mill workers.................................................................................... 62-64
Average age at death, by occupation................................................................
65
3
4
CONTENTS.
Page.
II.
F e m a l e s ................................................................................................................67-81
Distribution of deaths, by occupation............................................................. 67, 68
Mortality of all specified occupations combined............................................. 68-71
Average age at death, by cause, in all specified occupations combined___
72
Mortality, by occupation................................................................................... 72-81
Housewives and housekeepers................................................................... 73, 74
Domestic servants........................................................................................ 74, 75
Dressmakers and garment workers............................................................. 76, 77
Textile-mill workers.................................................................................... 77, 78
Clerks, bookkeepers, and office assistants.................................................. 78-80
Store clerks and saleswomen...................................................................... 80,81
Average age at death, by occupation...............................................................
81
Conclusion...................................................................................................................83-85
Appendix A.—Comparative population mortality................................................ 87,88
Appendix B.—Occupation distribution of living policyholders—Metropoli
tan Life Insurance Co............................................................................................ 88,89
BULLETIN OF THE
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
WHOLE NO. 207.
WASHINGTON.
MARCH, 1917.
CAUSES OF DEATH, BY OCCUPATION.
BY LOUIS I. DUBLIN, PH. D .1
INTRODUCTION.
The large industrial insurance companies are in a favorable posi
tion to study the influence of occupation on life and health. A
considerable proportion of the persons insured by them are engaged
in gainful work. The companies pay a large number of death claims
annually on the lives of these persons, and obtain very comprehensive
records of the essential facts relative to their occupations and their
causes of death. In the interest of the community and in their own
interest, the companies have devoted themselves for some time to an
analysis of their experience. Indeed, the publications on the occupa
tional mortality experience of the Prudential Insurance Co. from the
pen of Dr. Hoffman have been invaluable in the discussion of industrial
hygiene in America. It is the purpose in the present study to give
the results of an analysis of the occupational mortality experience of
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. There are available the records
of 94,269 deaths which occurred in the three years 1911, 1912, and
1913 among occupied white males, and of 102,467 deaths in the same
three years among white females, at ages 15 years and over, insured
in the industrial department of the company. Data for colored
persons are at hand, but do not illustrate any additional relations
between occupation and mortality. They are therefore not pre
sented in this study.
The occupations returned upon the death certificates were classified
according to the titles in an abridged and modified list drawn from
the classified index to occupations prepared by the Census Bureau.2
Titles were added to this list to meet the requirements and opportu
nities of the material, but throughout the analysis attention was
directed primarily to those occupations which were represented in
large numbers or which possessed exceptional interest from the view
point of hazard.
1The author desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. Lee K . Frankel, third vice president of
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., for his many courtesies which have made this investigation possi
ble. Of the staff of the Statistical Bureau, special credit is gladly given to Mr. Edwin W . Kopf, assistant
statistician, and to Mr. Philip Leiboff.
2 Classified Index to Occupations. Thirteenth Census of the United States. Department of Com
merce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Washington, 1910.
5
I. MALES.
DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS, BY OCCUPATION.
Male occupations will first be considered. Table 1 indicates the
distribution of the more important occupations represented in this
experience.
T a b l e 1.— OCCUPATIONS OF W H IT E M ALE D ECED EN TS, AG ES 15 Y E A R S A N D O V E R .
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Num
ber of
deaths.
Per
cent
of
total.
Laborers (undefined)........................
10,748
Teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs.
6,471
Clerks, bookkeepers, and office
assistants..........................................
4,139
Carpenters.............................................
3,917
Farmers and farm laborers...............
3,890
3,152
Machinists.............................................
Painters, paper hangers, and varnishers................................................
2,722
Policemen, watchmen,and guards.. 2,407
Store clerks and salesmen..................
2,396
Textile-mill workers...........................
2,390
Merchants and storekeepers..............
2,260
Saloon keepers and bartenders.........
2,190
Railway track and yard workers___
1,932
Janitors and building employees___
1,770
Masons and bricklayers......................
1,748
Iron molders.........................................
1,646
Coal miners...........................................
1,557
1,452
Shoemakers...........................................
Stationary engineers and firemen. . .
1,443
1,437
Children, students, and scholars___
Blacksmiths..........................................
1,273
Professional service.............................
1,186
Agents and canvassers........................
1,183
11.4
6.9
Occupation.
4.4
4.2
4.1
3.3
2.9
2.6
2.5
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.0
1.9
1.9
1.7
1.7
1.5
1.5
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.3
Occupation.
Per
Num
ber of cent
deaths. of
total.
Plumbers, gas fitters, and steam fit
ters.......................................................
1,153
Tailors and garment workers.......... .
1,095
1,056
Compositors and printers..................
Railway enginemen and trainmen..
947
868
Street-railway employees..................
Hostlers and stablemen.................... .
832
Hucksters and peddlers.....................
829
Sailors and marine workers............. .
787
762
Iron and steel mill workers...............
758
Waiters..................................................
Cabinet and furniture makers..........
757
Cigar makers and tobacco workers..
Leather goods workers.......................
Bakers....................................................
654
Longshoremen and stevedores.........
651
614
Tinners and tinware workers............
Street and sewer cleaners...................
609
596
Electricians...........................................
582
Barbers..................................................
521
Coopers...................................................
All other occupations.......................... 15,534
All occupations (excluding
“ retired ” )...............................
94,269
100.0
The largest single group is “ Laborers/’ forming 11.4 per cent of
the total. More definite occupations are represented in considerable
numbers, viz., clerical employees, farmers and farm laborers, and
persons engaged in the various building trades, in iron and steel
work, and in the railway service. Many of these groups are known
to be exposed to definite occupational hazards. It is interesting to
note the large degree of correspondence in the above distribution of
occupations with that found in the list presented by Hoffman in his
analysis of the material of the Prudential Insurance Co.1 The total
number of deaths in his list is 103,434, occurring during the years
1907 to 1910. His largest group is likewise composed of laborers,
who represent 18.8 per cent of the total. The first five titles are the
1Exhibits of the Prudential Insurance Co. of America. Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene
and Demography, Washington, D. C., 1912. Table I, p. 23.
8
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
same in both lists. A considerable number of occupations appear
in the two lists with virtually the same percentage of the total—as,
for instance, tailors, printers, and coopers. Emphasis is placed upon
this correspondence, first, because it tends to confirm the essential
accuracy of the statements of occupations as given on the death
certificates received by the insurance companies, and second, because
it establishes the comparability of the mortality experience of the
two companies.
It would be well if, in addition to the distribution of the occupa
tions of the deceased, there were available the corresponding figures
for the distribution of the occupations of living policyholders. We
should then be able to present the death rates for each of the occu
pations in question. Such rates, especially if prepared for the
various age periods of life, would undoubtedly be a very accurate
measure of the hazard to life in the various occupations. Unfortu
nately, information with reference to the occupations of living policy
holders is not at hand, because of the great cost involved in keeping
records in such detail for over 10,000,000 industrial policyholders.
T a b l e 2 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF DEATHS
FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES IN ATT,
W H IT E
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial
Age periods (years).
Ages 15 years and
over.
Line
No.
Cause of death.
Inter
national
List No.
15-24
Number
of deaths.
Per
cent.
Number
of deaths.
Per
cent.
Typhoid fever..........................
Influenza...................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs____
Cancer (all forms)...................
Acute articular rheumatism.
28,29
39-45
47
1,390
769
19,349
4,578
380
1.5
.8
20.5
4.9
.4
581
64
3,753
76
105
5.2
.6
33.8
.7
.9
Chronic rheumatism and gout.........................
Diabetes...............................................................
Alcoholism...........................................................
Chronic lead poisoning......................................
Other occupational and chronic poisonings.
50
56
57
58,59
69
913
889
81
31
.1
1.0
.9
.1
4
110
21
3
4
1.0
.2
5,825
11,323
804
6,776
276
6.2
12.0
.9
7.2
.3
52
640
30
599
46
.5
5.8
.3
5.4
.4
2,136
9,059
2,150
8,752
18,719
2.3
9.6
2.3
9.3
19.9
22
276
308
2,130
2,292
.2
2.5
2.8
19.2
20.6
94,269
100.0
11,116
100.0
Cerebral hemorrhage; apoplexy; paralysis..
Organic diseases of the heart...........................
Acute and chronic bronchitis..........................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined).................
Pleurisy................................................................
Cirrhosis of the liver..
Bright’s disease..........
Suicide (all forms)___
Accidental violence. .
All other causes..........
All causes.
1
10
64-66
79
89,90
92
113
120
155-163
/ 164-181 |
\ 185,186
9
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
We may nevertheless measure approximately the hazards involved
in certain occupations by presenting the proportionate mortality from
certain causes of death in each occupation. This method has the vir
tue of showing at once what causes predominate in each of the age
periods. With proper precautions, occupations can be compared
among themselves and valuable facts obtained for the practical
purposes of industrial hygiene.
PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF DEATH IN ALL OCCUPATIONS COMBINED.
The first step in the investigation consists in obtaining the general
proportionate distribution of the principal causes of death. This is
shown in Table 2, which is for the entire experience; that is, for all
occupied males combined. The causes of death selected are those
which are of interest because of their numerical importance or
because they indicate the character of the hazard in the occupations.
The number of deaths from each cause in 10-year age periods, and
the per cent distribution of the causes within each age period, are
presented.
OCCUPATIONS (EXC LUDING “ R E T IR E D ” ), B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D OVER —
MALES.
department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.J
Age periods (years).
35-44
25-34
45-54
Number
of
deaths.
Per
cent.
Number
of
deaths.
Per
cent.
356
65
5,292
103
46
2.7
.5
40.9
.8
.4
211
94
5,017
357
52
1.4
.6
32.9
2.3
.3
6
92
182
8
4
.7
1.4
.1
6
100
314
24
7
160
697
36
952
30
1.2
5.4
.3
7.3
.2
154
577
402
1,616
2,175
1.2
4.5
3.1
12.5
16.8
12,953
100.0
Number
of
deaths.
55-64
65 and over.
Aver
age
Line
age at
No.
death
(years).
Per
cent.
Number
of
deaths.
Per
cent.
Number
of
deaths.
Per
cent.
128
113 *
3,084
989
75
0.8
.7
18.5
5.9
.4
81
189
1,640
1,665
51
0.4
1.0
8.6
8.7
.3
33
244
563
1,388
51
0.2
1.3
2.9
7.3
.3
31.1
53.3
37.1
57.8
41.1
1
2
3
4
5
.7
2.1
.2
10
171
227
24
7
.1
1.0
1.4
.1
20
249
106
14
4
.1
1.3
.6
.1
23
191
39
8
5
.1
1.0
.2
54.9
49.7
43.1
47.5
45.8
6
7
8
9
10
350
1,181
52
1,228
40
2.3
7.7
.3
8.1
.3
864
1,850
103
1,369
59
5.2
11.1
.6
8.2
.4
1,845
3,048
213
1,431
55
9.6
15.9
1.1
7.5
.3
2,554
3,907
370
1,197
46
13.4
20.4
1.9
6.3
.2
60.9
55.6
59.9
48.1
46.1
11
12
13
14
15
389
1,190
436
1,516
2,678
2.6
7.8
2.9
9.9
17.6
635
1,851
428
1,419
3,290
3.8
11.1
2.6
8.5
3.1
13.3
2.0
6.5
19.6
343
2,612
193
835
4,525
1.8
13.7
1.0
4.4
23.7
52.0
55.1
43.1
39.3
19.7
593
2,553
383
1,236
3,759
16
17
18
19
20
15,242* 100.0
16,696
100.0
19,135
100.0
19,127
100.0
47.9
21
10
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Similar tables are presented for each of the occupations studied,
and comparisons are made of the proportionate representation of
any one cause in a certain occupation with the corresponding
representation in all occupations. The ratio of these two percent
ages may be conveniently called the relative index of mortality
for each specified cause in the occupation. The following illustration
will clarify this point. Table 9 shows that among blacksmiths, in the
age period 25 to 34 years, 28.7 per cent of the deaths were due to
tuberculosis of the lungs. For all occupied males in the same age
period the corresponding proportion of deaths was 40.9 per cent.
The relative index of mortality from tuberculosis of the lungs among
blacksmiths in the age period 25 to 34 is therefore 70.0.1 Pulmonary
tuberculosis among blacksmiths at this age period, then, is not rel
atively as important a cause of death as it is in the entire group.
In the following sections are considered the chief characteristics of
this experience for all occupations (Table 2) with reference to the im
portant causes of death. Later the findings are summarized with
special reference to certain of the more important occupations.
TYPHOID FEVER.
Typhoid fever is one of the minor causes of death, being responsible
for only 1.5 per cent of the total deaths at all ages combined. The
disease shows its highest proportionate mortality at the age period 15
to 24 years. In all occupations combined, the proportionate inci
dence decreases at the fairly constant rate of about 50 per cent in
each succeeding age period, reaching the minimum in the age period
65 and over. The average age at death from this cause is 31.1 years.
The disease is found to be most prevalent among railway enginemen
and trainmen (2.7 per cent at all ages), among machinists and textile-mill workers (2.3 per cent at all ages), among bakers, among
compositors and printers (2.1 per cent at all ages), and among iron
molders (1.8 percent at all ages). Among all these occupations,
except compositors and printers, the highest proportionate mortality
from typhoid fever occurs in the age period 15 to 24 years; for
compositors and printers the period having the highest proportion
of deaths due to this disease is 25 to 34 years. This disease
shows the lowest proportionate mortality among masons and brick
layers (0.6 per cent at all ages), and among blacksmiths, longshoremen
and stevedores, and painters (0.9 per cent at all ages).
TUBERCULOSIS OF THE LUNGS.
Tuberculosis of the.lungs is the most prevalent cause of death for all
occupations combined, being responsible for 20.5 per cent of all deaths
at all ages. At ages 15 to 24 years it shows a proportionate mortality
of 33.8 per cent, and increases to its maximum, 40.9 per cent, in the
1Throughout this report relative indices are set in italics.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
11
age period 25 to 34. From this period onward there is a continuous
decrease in the per cent representation until, at 65 and over, pul
monary tuberculosis is responsible for only 2.9 per cent of all deaths.
The average age at death is.37.1 years.
It must not be assumed that the proportionate mortality figures
for the several age periods, as given above, are a true quantitative
measure of the relative incidence of tuberculosis at the various ages.
On the basis of exposure the highest rate from tuberculosis is in the
age period 35 to 44 years and not in the age period 25 to 34, when the
proportionate mortality is highest. It is only because of the increase
in mortality from other causes that the relative position of tubercu
losis is depressed. This phenomenon is even more marked in the later
age periods, where there is still a very high mortality rate from
tuberculosis, although the percentage distribution is very low. This
comment is made in order to caution the reader against an incorrect
interpretation of the figures given. Table 2 serves only to show the
position of any one cause in relation to other causes of death.
Tuberculosis of the lungs is the most frequent cause of death in 15
out of 19 occupations referred to in the following tables for males.
The proportionate mortality is highest among clerks, bookkeepers,
and office assistants, among whom it is responsible for 35.0 per cent
of all the deaths at all ages. It is also high among compositors and
printers; plumbers, gas fitters, and steam fitters; longshoremen and
stevedores; and teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs. It is least repre
sented among coal miners, among whom it is responsible for only
5.8 per cent of all the deaths. It is also low among farmers and
farm laborers (9.7 percent).
Among clerks, bookkeepers, and office assistants the disease has
its highest excess of proportionate mortality in the age period 25 to
34, when the percentage is 51.2. This is likewise true among com
positors and printers. The low proportionate mortality among coal
miners is most striking in the age period 15 to 24 years, when
it is 4.0 per cent.
CANCER (ALL FORM S).
Cancer (all forms) is of slight importance until the age period 45
to 54 years, when it causes 5.9 per cent of all deaths, all occupations
combined. The percentage increases in the following age period to
8.7 per cent. It is then slightly more prevalent than pulmonary
tuberculosis. In the last age period, the percentage declines to 7.3.
The average age at death from cancer is 57.8 years.
This disease is found most highly represented among blacksmiths
and among farmers and farm laborers (7.6 per cent at all ages). It is
lowest among enginemen and trainmen (2.0 per cent, all ages). Among
blacksmiths, the highest relative index of mortality from cancer is
in the age period 55 to 64 years, when the proportionate mortality
is 12.8 per cent. Among farmers and farm laborers the proportionate
12
BU LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
mortality is highest also in this age period, the percentage being 10.4,
Among enginemen and trainmen the proportionate mortality in the age
period 55 to 64 is 5.3 per cent.
DIABETES.
The proportionate representation of diabetes in all occupations
combined varies but slightly in the several age periods, ranging around
1 per cent of all deaths. The maximum proportion is 1.3 per cent
in the age period 55 to 64. The average age at death from this cause
is 49.7 years.
The small number of deaths from this disease renders uncertain
any comparison of its representation in various occupations. Yet
there appears to be confirmation of the findings of other workers
(Bertillon,1and Thompson2) that the condition is most prevalent among
those occupations which involve nervous strain and worry. Thus,
the proportionate mortality from diabetes is 2.1 per cent among rail
way enginemen and trainmen at the age period 55 to 64. An
even higher per cent, namely, 3.3, is found among saloon keepers and
bartenders at the same age period.
ALCOHOLISM.
The number of deaths from alcoholism is always understated;
many cases are assigned to the major effects of alcoholism, such as
Bright’s disease and cirrhosis of the liver, and to various forms of
mental alienation. These figures show that it is responsible for only
0.9 per cent of all the deaths among all occupied males. Its highest
proportionate mortality is shown in the age period 35 to 44 years,
where 2.1 per cent of all deaths result from it. The proportion is
the same-for the age period 25 to 34 as it is for 45 to 54, namely,
1.4 per cent. The average age at death from this cause is 43.1
years.
The proportionate mortality is highest among saloon keepers and
bartenders (3.4 per cent at all ages); it is also high among teamsters,
drivers, and chauffeurs (1.6 per cent at all ages). Among saloon
keepers and bartenders the highest proportionate mortality is found
in the age period 25 to 34. Among teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs
the highest proportion is in the age period 35 to 44, but a higher
relative index is found in the previous age period 25 to 34.
CHRONIC LEAD POISONING.
The occupational diseases are represented by small numbers, clearly
the result of under registration, chronic lead poisoning being re
corded in 81 cases and other occupational and chronic poisonings in
31. The largest number of lead-poisoning cases appear in the age
* Bertillon, Jacques: On Mortality and the Causes of Death according to Occupation.
International Congress on Hygiene and Demography, Washington, D. C., 1912. P. 365.
2 Thompson, W . Gilman: The Occupational Diseases. New York, 1914. P. 51.
Fifteenth
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
13
periods 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 among all occupied males; they
form 0.2 per cent of all the deaths at ages 35 to 44 and 0.1 per
cent at ages 45 to 54. The average age at death is 47.5 years.
It is only among painters, paper hangers, and varnishers that the
figures for lead poisoning are sufficiently large to warrant reference.
In this group 2.0 per cent of all the deaths were due to chronic lead
poisoning and in the age period 35 to 44 this proportion rises to 3.4
per cent.
CEREBRAL HEM ORRHAGE, APOPLEXY, AND PARALYSIS.
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis come into promi
nence as causes of death in the age period 45 to 54 years; the pro
portionate mortality is then 5.2 per cent. In the two following age
periods these causes assume great importance. The average age at
death is 60.9 years, which is the highest for any cause listed in
Table 2.
These diseases show their highest proportionate mortality' among
farmers and farm laborers (9.7 per cent at all ages), among black
smiths (8.3 per cent at all ages), and among other groups which show
a relatively high average age at death. The lowest proportion is
found among longshoremen and stevedores (2.8 per cent at all ages).
The farmers show their highest index of mortality in the age period
25 to 34 years4, but the number of cases here is too small to make
this index reliable. Most of the cases in this occupational group
occur in the age period 65 and over, when the index of mortality is
106.7. Among blacksmiths, on the other hand, the highest reliable
index is found in the age period 45 to 54; it is 155.8.
ORGANIC DISEASES OF THE HEART.
In this investigation organic diseases of the heart rank next to
tuberculosis of the lungs in numerical importance. They are respon
sible for 12.0 per cent of all deaths in all occupations combined. Like
tuberculosis, they form a prominent cause of death in every age
period, but unlike tuberculosis, they show their highest propor
tionate mortality at the advanced ages. Organic diseases of the
heart have a proportionate mortality of 5.8 per cent in the age
period 15 to 24 years. The percentage remains fairly constant until
age 34 is reached, and then increases rapidly until the highest
relative mortality, 20.4 per cent, occurs at ages 65 and over. Organic
diseases of the heart are the leading cause of death in this period,
as also in the previous age period, 55 to 64 (15.9 per cent). The
average age at death is 55.6 years.
These diseases are found to be most highly represented among
farmers and farm laborers, among whom they are responsible for
one death out of every six (16.5 per cent at all ages). They are also
highly represented among laborers (14.1 per cent) and among black
14
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
smiths (13.8 per cent). They are least represented among railway
enginemen and trainmen (5.4 per cent). Inferences must not be
drawn too hastily, however, from the proportionate representation of
organic heart diseases in various occupations, since they are rather
unsatisfactory assignments of cause of death, obscuring, in many
instances, more definite conditions which autopsy would determine.
ACUTE AND CHRONIC BRONCHITIS.
These diseases are also among the unsatisfactory returns of causes
of death, frequently hiding pulmonary tuberculosis. The propor
tionate mortality is 0,9 per cent at all ages. The percentages are
insignificant until the age period 55 to 64, when 1.1 per cent of all
deaths are caused by them. At ages 65 and over the percentage is
1.9 per cent. The average age at death is 59.9 years. The diseases
are found to be most highly represented among coal miners (3.1 per
cent at all ages). Among them it is in the age period 55 to 64 that the
highest significant index of mortality from bronchitis is reached
(381.8). These diseases follow closely the relative position of pneu
monia in the several occupations, being high where pneumonia is
common and low where pneumonia is least represented. The lowest
percentage is found among railway enginemen and trainmen, where
the proportionate mortality is 0.1 per cent at all ages. The above
findings agree with those of Bertillon.1
PNEUMONIA (LOBAR AND UNDEFINED).
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined) plays an important r61e at all
ages (7.2 per cent) and at all age periods. The proportionate mor
tality in the age period 15 to 24 years is 5.4 per cent. This is increased
to 7.3 per cent in the age period 25 to 34; to 8.1 per cent in the age
period 35 to 44; and to the maximum, 8.2 per cent, at the age period
45 to 54. The proportion declines to 6.3 in the age period 65 and
over. The average age at death from these causes, in all occupa
tions combined, is 48.1 years.
The disease appears to be most common in occupations exposed to
alcohol, and in those in which sudden changes in temperature take
place. The highest proportionate mortality is found among iron
molders (10.6 per cent at all ages), coal miners (10.3 per cent), labor
ers (9 per cent), saloon keepers and bartenders (8.7 per cent), team
sters, drivers, and chauffeurs (8.5 per cent), and longshoremen and
stevedores (8.3 per cent). Among iron molders the highest relative
index of mortality is in the age period 15 to 24 years (187.0) and among
coal miners it is in the age period 45 to 54 (179.8). Among laborers
the highest index (141.1) is in the age period 25 to 34, and among
teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs it is in the same age period (I48.8).
The lowest proportionate mortalities are found among cigar makers
1 Op
cit., p. 350.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
15
and tobacco workers, compositors and printers, and railway enginemen and trainmen.
In many respects, this disease follows closely the description given
above for bronchitis; indeed, all the respiratory diseases follow much
the same course. The chief difference lies in the average age at
death from the various conditions.
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER.
Cirrhosis of the liver, including alcoholic cirrhosis, becomes promi
nent in the age period 35 to 44 years, and is then responsible for
2.6 per cent of all deaths in all occupations combined. It reaches
its maximum proportion in the age period 45 to 54, with a per
centage of 3.8 of all the deaths. The percentage decreases in the
next age period to 3.1, and is still further reduced in the last age
period, 65 and over, to 1.8 per cent. The average age at death is
52 years.
The proportionate mortality from this disease is highest among
saloon keepers and bartenders, being 7.5 per cent of all deaths at all
ages. In the age period 45 to 54 years the percentage is 10.7, with
an index of 281.6. In this age period, cirrhosis of the liver is
almost as important as pneumonia in this occupation; in the fol
lowing age periods it is even more important. It is possible, how
ever, that the returns for cirrhosis of the liver among saloon keepers
often obscure the more definite statement of alcoholism. The dis
ease shows its lowest percentage among longshoremen and steve
dores (1.1 per cent of all deaths). This is found to be characteristic
of all the age periods of this occupation.
BRIGHT’S DISEASE.
Bright’s disease is a prominent cause of death at all age periods
(9.6 per cent), but it is especially significant after 35 years of age.
In the age period 35 to 44 the percentage of all deaths is 7.8; this
proportion increases steadily until it reaches its maximum, 13.7 per
cent, in the age period 65 and over. The average age at death is
55.1 years.
Bright’s disease shares with cirrhosis of the liver and alcoholism the
characteristic of being most prevalent among saloon keepers and
bartenders and very low among railway enginemen and trainmen.
Among saloon keepers and bartenders the percentage at all ages is
12.2; in the age period 55 to 64 the proportion rises to 18.1 per cent.
Bright’s disease is then the most important cause of death. This
is likewise true in the preceding and in the following age periods.
In other words, Bright’s disease among saloon keepers and bartenders
is the principal cause of death at all ages beginning with age 45.
This cause likewise accounts for 12.2 per cent of the deaths at all ages
56505°—Bull. 207—17------2
16
B ULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
among painters, paper hangers, and varnishers, among whom the
maximum proportionate mortality, 18.6 per cent, is attained at ages
55 to 64. This may indicate the effect of chronic lead poisoning in
this occupation. In this and in the following age period Bright's
disease is one of the principal causes of death.
SUICIDE.
Suicide is another cause of death which is found closely related to
alcoholism. Suicide (all forms) was responsible, in this investigation,
for 2.3 per cent of all deaths at all ages combined. The proportion
varies somewhat in the different age periods, but is highest at ages
25 to 34 years, being 3.1 per cent. The lowest proportion is in the
age period 65 and over. It must not be inferred, however, that this
cause shows the highest mortality rate at the earlier age period; for
on the basis of number exposed to risk it is found most prevalent
among white males in the age period 65 to 74, at which ages the rate
in the Metropolitan Industrial Experience during the years 1911 to
1914 was 81.5 per 100,000. In the age period 25 to 34, on the other
hand, while the proportion is highest, the rate per 100,000 is 30.1.
The marked increase in the number of deaths from other causes at
the advanced ages has the effect of reducing the proportionate
representation of suicide, even though the rate is then highest. Em
phasis is placed upon this difference between the proportion and the
rate to caution the reader against misconstruction of the figures
upon which this study is based. The average age at death from
suicide is 43.1 years.
The proportionate mortality from suicide is found highest among
bakers, among whom it is responsible for 5.4 per cent of all deaths at
all ages. It is high among cigar makers (3.2 per cent at all ages)
and among iron molders and saloon keepers and bartenders (2.7
per cent). It is found to be lowest among coal miners, among
laborers, and in other occupations where mental stress is supposedly
at a minimum.
ACCIDENTAL VIOLENCE.
Under this head are included deaths from all of the external
causes, with the exception of suicide and homicide. It was the pur
pose originally to differentiate from this group deaths from poisonous
gases and other poisons, because of the possible light that the figures
might throw on occupational conditions. The number of cases,
however, was found to be too small to warrant any conclusion with
reference to the relative index of mortality from poisonous gases
and other poisons in the various occupations. Taken together the
accidental causes are responsible for a large proportion of all deaths
(9.3 per cent at all ages). The highest proportion is reached in the
very earliest age period—namely, 15 to 24 years—when 19.2 per
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
17
cent of all deaths are from these causes. If, in this age period, all
external causes excepting homicide are combined the total percentage
is 22.0. Next to tuberculosis of the lungs, this group of causes is most
important. In the following age period “ accidental violence,” as
here defined, is responsible for 12.5 per cent of the deaths. The
proportion decreases steadily, until in the age period 65 and over it
is only 4.4 per cent. The average age at death from accidental
violence is 39.3 years.
The highest proportion is found among railway enginemen and
trainmen, where 42.4 per cent of all the deaths at all ages combined
are due to accidental violence. In this occupation all other causes
are of secondary significance. The proportion is also high among
railway track and yard workers (20.8 per cent) and among coal
miners (20.3 per cent), and is least among saloon keepers and bar
tenders (3.2 per cent). The highest relative index of mortality from
accidental violence is found in the age period 25 to 34 among railway
enginemen and trainmen (461.6).
To summarize the above discussion, we find in the age period 15 to
24 two causes of preeminent importance, namely, tuberculosis of
the lungs and accidental violence. Together they are responsible
for 53.0 per cent of all deaths. In the age period 25 to 34 pneumonia
becomes significant, and, added to the two aforementioned causes,
increases the proportion to 60.7 per cent of the total. In the age
period 35 to 44 Bright’s disease and organic diseases of the heart
raise the number of principal causes to five which together form 66.4
per cent of all of the deaths. There is no striking change in condi
tions in the two succeeding age periods. In the age period 65 and
over organic diseases of the heart lead, and, together with Bright’s
disease, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis, cancer, and
pneumonia, give a total of 61.1 per cent of the deaths from all
causes.
AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH, BY CAUSE, IN ALL OCCUPATIONS COMBINED.
The last column of Table 2 shows the average age at death from
each of the causes of death and from all causes combined. It is
realized that these average ages are not reliable measures of the
mortality of occupied persons in the various occupations; they are
nevertheless significant as a descriptive factor for each one of the
diseases or conditions listed. Typhoid fever shows the lowest average
age at death (31.1 years). This is followed by tuberculosis of the
lungs (37.1 years). Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy,
and paralysis show the highest age at death (60.9 years). The
table following shows the average age at death from each of the
causes in ascending order of age.
18
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
T a b l e 3.—SPECIFIED CAUSES OF D E A T H LISTED IN ASCENDING O R DER OF A V E R A G E
AGE A T D E A T H —W H IT E MALES—AGES 15 Y E A R S AN D O VER .
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Average
age
(years).
Cause of death.
Typhoid fever...................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs................................
Accidental violence..........................................
Acute articular rheumatism..........................
Alcoholism.........................................................
Suicide..............................................■.................
Other occupational and chronic poisonings.
Pleurisy . . 1......................................................
Chronic lead poisoning..................................
Pneumonia.......................................................
Diabetes.............................................................
31.1
37.1
39.3
41.1
43.1
43.1
45.8
46.1
47.5
48.1
49.7
Aver
age age
(years).
Cause of death.
Cirrhosis of the liver........................................
Influenza............................................................
Chronic rheumatism and gout......................
Bright’s disease................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.........................
Cancer (all forms)............................................
Acute and chronic bronchitis........................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and pa
ralysis..............................................................
52.0
53.3
54.9
55.1
55.6
57.8
59.9
All causes................................................
47.9
60.9
These figures for the average ages at death are for occupied white
males, ages 15 and over, and must not be compared with population
figures for the same causes which usually include persons at all
ages.
A detailed comparison of Table 2 with the corresponding table for
the experience of the Prudential Life Insurance Co.1 shows a remark
able correspondence in the proportionate incidence of each of the
causes of death in the several age periods. This agreement may well
have been expected in view of the similarity of the two insurance
experiences. It is, nevertheless, a very encouraging condition, for
it points unmistakably to the essential accuracy of the two studies.
For some causes of death the definiteness of which leaves little to be
desired, as, for example, suicide, the agreement in the two experiences
is almost complete, as is shown in the following table:
T a b l e 4 .—PER CENT OF M O RTALITY FROM SUICIDE, B Y AGE PERIODS: TH E METRO
POLITAN AND THE PR U D E N TIAL IND USTR IAL EXPER IEN CES COMPARED.
Per cent of deaths during age period (years)Insurance company.
Metropolitan..................................
Prudential......................................
Ages 15
years
and over.
2.3
2.2
15-24
2.8
2.8
25-34
3.1
2.8
35-44
2.9
2.5
45-54
2.6
2.7
55-64
2.0
2.0
65 and
over.
1.0
.9
For other causes where the two experiences diverge, they do so
only within very narrow limits. These variations are the result of
slightly different methods of compilation in the statistical offices of
the two companies. It may not only be concluded from this corre
spondence then, that the qualitative measures of the mortality—that
is, the proportional figures—are mutually confirmed in the two expe
riences, but the prediction may confidently be made that the quan
i Op. cit., pp. 24,25.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
19
titative measures of the mortality in the several occupations— that is,
the death rates—will be found just as similar in the two experiences,
when such measures of mortality are finally obtained.
AGE DISTRIBUTION.
It is necessary to take up one other general characteristic of this
material before considering each of the several occupations; namely,
the age distribution of the deceased. The average age at death of
all occupied persons is 47.9 years. The average age at death has
been determined for each of the occupations, and is to be found in
each of the tables descriptive of the occupation. It must not be
assumed, however, that these average ages are trustworthy measures
of the mortality of persons in the various occupations. They are
dependent in large measure upon the age distribution of the living
workers in each oi the occupations. It is obvious that the average
age at death will be low in such occupations as clerks, bookkeepers,
and office assistants, where the largest number of persons exposed
are in the earlier age periods. On the other hand, a high average
age at death will be found in those occupations in which a consider
able proportion of* the workers are in the advanced age periods, as,
for example, among laborers. Yet the mortality rate of laborers is
clearly much higher per thousand exposed than the mortality rate
found among clerks, bookkeepers, and office assistants. The deter
mining factor is, then, the distribution of the ages of the living in
each occupation. Data covering this point are not available in our
experience, but, in spite of these limitations, it is nevertheless of
interest to note the average ages of the deceased.
The following table presents the distribution, by number and
percentage, of the 94,269 decedents by 10-year age periods, in the
Metropolitan experience as compared with that of the Prudential.
Again a striking correspondence is to be noted in the two sets of
figures.
T a bl e 5 . — COMPARISON OF TH E NUM BER OF D EATH S A N D PER CENT D IST R IBU T IO N
B Y AGE PERIODS, OF T H E M ETR OPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE CO. IN D U S T R IA L MOR
T A L IT Y E X P E R IE N C E , 1911 to 1913, W IT H T H E PR U D E N T IA L E X P E R IE N C E , 1907 to 1910.
Metropolitan ex
perience.
Prudential experi
ence.
Age period.
Per
Number of cent
of Number of
deaths.
deaths.
total.
Per
cent of
total.
15 to 24 years.........
25 to 34 years.........
35 to 44 years.........
45 to 54 years.........
55 to 64 years.
65 years and over. .
11,116
12,953
15,242
16,696
19,135
19,127
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
10,756
15,451
17,415
17,969
20,836
21,007
10*. 4
14.9
16.8
17.4
20.1
20.3
All ages...........
94,269
100.0
103,434
100.0
20
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
MORTALITY, BY OCCUPATION.
In this section the individual occupations have been considered,
with special reference to the relative proportion of the causes of death.
Not all the occupations in the list have been studied. Certain occupa
tions leave much to be desired in the matter of definiteness of state
ment. Thus such a title as “ policemen, watchmen, and guards,”
on examination, shows inclusions of such diversity as to invalidate
any conclusions drawn from the findings. The title has been discon
tinued for future investigations. Other occupations are represented
by too small numbers, as, for example, electric linemen, with only 198
deaths. The element of chance in the returns for such an occupa
tion plays a .very important part. Finally, certain occupations are
of no great interest because of the lack of hazard involved in their
pursuit. Such occupations are carpenters, merchants and store
keepers, agents and canvassers, etc. These, too, have not been con
sidered. The following occupations taken from the general list
appear, then, to satisfy three conditions: First, they permit defi
niteness of statement; second, they embrace a sufficiently large num
ber of cases; and third, they indicate the presence of some element
of hazard:
Bakers.
Blacksmiths.
Cigar makers and tobacco workers.
Coal miners.
Compositors and printers.
Railway enginemen and trainmen.
Iron molders.
Longshoremen and stevedores.
Machinists.
Masons and bricklayers.
Painters, paper hangers, and varnishers.
Plumbers, gas fitters, and steam fitters
Railway track and yard workers.
Saloon keepers and bartenders.
Teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs.
Textile mill workers.
In addition a few occupations which are characterized by lack of
hazard, or rather by the presence of favorable conditions which add
to the longevity of those engaged in them have been considered. Thus
agricultural workers (farmers and farm laborers), and clerks and office
assistants make interesting groups for comparison with the more
hazardous titles listed above.
"
BAKERS.1
There were 654 deaths among bakers. The table following indi
cates the distribution of the deaths in this group by age periods, and
the corresponding distribution in all occupations.
1 This title includes foremen and workmen in bakeries where breads, pie, cakes, biscuits, and crackers
are made. (Bakers’ store clerks are not included.)
21
CAUSES OP DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
T ab le 6 .—N U M B ER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG BA K E R S ,
B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
BAKERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
654
57
60
99
136
158
144
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
8.7
9.2
15.1
20.8
24.2
22.0
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
There is a preponderance of deaths at the later age periods; 67
per cent of all deaths occurred after age 44, as against 58.3 per cent
in all occupations. The average age at death is 50.6 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 7 .— N UM BER AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
B A K E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S AN D OVER —W H IT E M ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Aver
age
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
65
35-44
45-54
55-64
and
age at
death.
over.
Number of deaths...................................
654
57
60
99
136
158
144
Typhoid fever...........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined).......
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
14
123
37
2.1
18.8
5.7
7.0
31.6
1.8
5.0
51.7
4.0
37.4
2.0
0.7
14.7
10.3
0.6
9.5
7.0
0.7
1.4
6.2
34.0
38.6
56.3
42
81
35
20
65
35
37
165
6.4
12.4
5.4
3.1
9.9
5.4
5.7
25.2
1.7
8.8
5.0
1.8
3.3
3.5
3.5 '" h '.o
3.5
8.3
17.6
10.0
20.9
10.0
1.0
6.1
10.1
5.1
8.1
3.7
6.6
11.0
7.4
3.6
28.8
6.3
15.2
7.0
2.5
17.7
2.5
7.0
24.7
16.0
22.2
4.2
3.5
9.0
4.9
.7
31.2
63.4
57.5
51.4
54.9
55.2
49.1
40.3
Total......................................... . . . .
654
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
50.6
100.0
100.0
4.0*
7.1
4.0
24.3
100.0
The principal causes of death for all ages combined are pulmonary
tuberculosis, organic diseases of the heart, and Bright’s disease.
These and other causes, however, show more significant interrelations
when considered by individual age periods. Up to the age of 35 years
the number of deaths is too small to justify any comment. In the age
period 35 to 44 tuberculosis leads all causes with 37.4 per cent of the
total deaths. Pneumonia follows with 10.1 per cent, suicide with 7.1
per cent, and organic diseases of the heart with 6.1 per cent. In the
age period 45 to 54 the proportionate mortality from tuberculosis de
clines markedly to 14.7 per cent, while cancer increases to 10.3 per cent.
22
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.
Bright’s disease here accounts for 11.0 per cent and suicide for 7.4 per
cent of all deaths. In the next age period, 55 to 64, the percentage of
tuberculosis continues to decrease. Bright’s disease leads, with 17.7
per cent of all deaths, and is followed by organic diseases of the heart,
with 15.2 per cent of all deaths. In the last age period, 65 and over,
we note the predominance of organic diseases of the heart, cerebral
hemorrhage, apoplexy and paralysis, Bright’s disease, and cancer.
The percentages are 22.2, 16.0, 9.0, and 6.2, respectively.
We may now compare the proportionate mortality of bakers with
the corresponding figures for all occupations, as shown in Table 2.
In the age period 25 to 34 pulmonary tuberculosis causes 51.7 per cent
of all deaths among bakers, as against 40.9 per cent in all occupa
tions. The ratio of the former percentage to the latter—i. e., the
relative index—is 126.4. This shows how much higher the propor
tionate mortality from tuberculosis, in this age period, is for bakers
than for all occupations. At ages 35 to 44 the excess percentage of
tuberculosis of the lungs is not so great (113.7). The proportionate
mortality from pneumonia is above the average (124-7), and typhoid
fever (285.7) and suicide (244-8) are both excessive. In the age
period 45 to 54 both tuberculosis of the lungs (79.5) and pneumonia
(4^.1) have low indices. Cirrhosis of the liver (173.7), suicide (284-6),
and cancer (174-6) have high indices. In the age period 65 and over
no conditions of interest are observed except that suicide is very
high (490.0).
The relative indices of tuberculosis of the lungs and of pneumonia
are not so high as might be expected from the dusty character of this
occupation. Except in the age period 35 to 44, the proportion of pneu
monia is uniformly lower among bakers than in all occupations, and,
except in the twenty years from ages 25 to 44, and in the age period
55 to 64, the proportion of pulmonary tuberculosis is likewise below
the average. For all ages combined, the relative index of tuberculosis
of the lungs is 91.7 and that of pneumonia is 75.0. The Registrar Gen
eral of England and Wales and other authorities 1 in general confirm
these findings regarding the slight effect of dust on the incidence of
pulmonary tuberculosis and respiratory diseases in this occupation.
The relative mortality from suicide is strikingly high among bakers.
This cause of death is likewise conspicuous in the English and United
States census returns and in those of Hoffman in the Prudential expe
rience. For all ages combined, the relative index is 234-8. It is high
est in the age period 65 and over (490.0). Other forms of violence
are found to be lower than in all occupations.
i Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Mar
riages in England and Wales, Part II. London, 1908.
Exhibits of the Prudential Insurance Co. of America. Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and
Demography, Washington, D. C., 1912.
Reports of the United States Census Office. Mortality Statistics, 1908.
CAUSES OP DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
23
BLACKSMITHS, i
There were 1,273 deaths among blacksmiths. The following table
indicates the distribution of the deaths throughout the various age
periods:
T a b l e 8 . — NU M BER
AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG B L A C K
SM ITHS, B Y A G E PER IOD S, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E
M ALES.
Item.
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
BLACKSMITHS.
Deaths.
1,273
47
87
165
235
•837
402
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
3.7
6.8
13.0
18.5
26.5
31.6
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
There is a preponderance of deaths in the later age periods— 76.6
per cent of all deaths occur after age 44, as against 58.3 per cent in
all occupations. The average age at death is 55.4 years, as against
47.9 in all occupations.
In this and in the following occupations it will be unnecessary to
discuss principal causes of death and percentages, as these are
apparent by inspection of the accompanying table. Only those
causes will be selected for analysis which warrant attention by reason
of the number of deaths occurring from them and their variation
from the corresponding figures for all occupations. In these com
parisons, to avoid repetition, only relative indices will be used.
Table 9 analyzes the mortality of each age class, by cause of death.
In the two age periods 15 to 24 years and 25 to 34 years there are
too small numbers to permit any inferences. In the age period 35 to 44
a high proportionate mortality is observed for pulmonary tubercu
losis, 35.8 per cent (108.8), and a high proportion for suicide, 5.5
per cent (189.7). The proportionate mortality is low for organic dis
eases of the heart and for Bright’s disease, the relative indices being
respectively 71.4 and 85.9. In the age period 45 to 54 the propor
tionate mortality is high for cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis (155.8) and for suicide (130.8), but low for accidental
violence (49.4)- In the age period 55 to 64 the relative indices are
high for cancer (147.1) and diabetes (207.7). Other causes follow
closely the proportionate mortality in all occupations. In the age
period 65 and over, except for higher relative indices for Bright’s
i This title includes blacksmiths, horseshoers, and hand forge workers in the various industries.
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
24
disease (116.1), cirrhosis of the liver (150.0), and cancer (116.4), no
notable conditions are found.
T a b le
9 .—N UM BER AND PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
BLACKSM ITHS, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S AN D O VER —W H IT E M ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Number of deaths...................................
Per
cent.
15-24
47
87
29.8
28.7
4.3
1.1
1.1
1.1
1,273
25-34
45-54
55-64
165
235
337
402
35.8
1.8
1.2
2.4
17.0
6.8
.4
2.6
8.3
12.8
2.7
.9
3.0
8.5
1.2
43.9
60.8
54.6
46.0
8.1
11.5
1.3
7.2
3.4
11.1
3.4
4.2
23.0
10.7
15.1
.6
7.1
2.4
12.5
1.2
5.0
20.8
11.9
20.4
1.5
4.7
2.7
15.9
.7
3.2
26.1
62.8
61.7
62.1
52.4
56.2
59.6
45.5
48.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
55.4
35-44
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes.....................................................
Alcoholism ......................
.............
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis...............
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
178
97
20
14
14.0
7.6
1.6
1.1
106
176
12
86
33
151
30
69
301
8.3
13.8
.9
6.8
2.6
11.9
2.4
5.4
23.6
*4.3
6.4
19.2
31.9
13.8
2.3
6.9
3.4
12.6
18.3
.6
5.5
.6
7.3
2.4
6.7
5.5
5.5
24.8
Total................................................
1,273
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
2.3
8.0
4.3
Aver
age
age at
death.
65
and
over.
Tuberculosis of the lungs shows a lower index of mortality among
blacksmiths than in the general group at all age periods, except at
35 to 44 years and 65 years and over, where the relative indices are
108.8 and 108.4, respectively. For all ages together, the relative
index of mortality from this cause is 68.3. A low relative index for
tuberculosis is likewise found in the returns of the Registrar General
for 1900 to 1902—namely, 80.3—and in the returns of the United
States Census Bureau for 1908, where the index is 73.3. Cancer, on
the other hand, shows a uniformly higher index of mortality from age
45 onward. In the age period 45 to 54 the index is 115.3; it then
increases to 147-1 in the next age period and declines to 116.4 in the
age period 65 and over. Organic diseases of the heart show
slight variation from the conditions in all occupations. Suicide is
relatively prominent in all age periods up to age 55, while other
accidental violence is distinctly lower after age 34.
No definite causal relation can be said to exist between the char
acter of this occupation and the variations we have referred to in the
proportionate mortality from the principal causes.
CIGAR MAKERS AND TOBACCO WORKERS.*
There were 693 deaths among cigar makers and tobacco workers.
The table following indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations.
i This title includes foremen and workmen: branders, bunch makers, cappers and nip wrappers, casers,
classers, cutters, dippers, dryers and dry-house men, hangers and shakers out, lump makers, pressers,
prizer hands, rollers, samplers, shapers, sizers, snuff makers, sorters, steam wrappers, steam-box hands,
stemmers, strippers, tiers, weighers, and wrappers.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
25
10.—N U M B E R AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG CIGAR
M AK ER S A N D TOBACCO W O R K E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A LL
OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
98
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
CIGAR MAKERS AND TOBACCO WORKERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
693
66
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
9.5
100.0
11.8
95
121
158
155
14.1 ~~ 13.7
17.5
22.8
22.4
13.7
17.7
20.3
20.3
a l l o c c u p a t io n s .
Per cent of deaths..................................................
16.2
There is a slight preponderance of deaths in the later age periods ;
62.7 per cent occur after age 44, as against 58.3 per cent in all occupa
tions. The average age at death is 49.5 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 1 1 . — NU M BER
AND PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
CIGAR M AK ER S AN D TOBACCO W O R K E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D
OVER —W H IT E M ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
66
98
95
48.5
44.9
1.0
41.1
4.2
4.2
9.5
5.3
2.1
3.2
4.2
9.5
16.9
100.0
25-34
Number of deaths...................................
693
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)----Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
167
36
24.1
5.2
45
81
32
28
70
22
32
180
6.5
11.7
4.6
4.0
10.1
3.2
4.6
26.0
3.0
7.5
34.8
2.0
8.2
7.1
1.0
4.1
2.0
4.1
25.4
Total................................................
693
100.0
100.0
100.0
4.5
1.5
35-44
Aver
age
age at
death.
55-64
65
and
over.
121
158
155
25.6
7.4
11.4
7.6
1.9
6.5
37.9
57.3
3.3
9.9
2.5
7.4
12.4
3.3
5.0
23.0
11.4
15.2
5.1
6.3
13.3
3.8
1.3
24.5
11.0
16.1
5.2
3.9
17.4
2.6
3.9
31.5
60.0
54.7
50.2
56.2
59.4
49.3
43.8
100.0
100.0
100.0
49.5
45-54
In the age period 15 to 24 the proportionate mortality from tuber
culosis is alone worthy of attention, being responsible for 48.5 per
cent of the total deaths, as compared with 33.8 per cent for all occu
pations; the relative index is 11$.5. In the age period 25 to 34, the
index of tuberculosis of the lungs decreases to 109.8. Organic
diseases of the heart are prominent (IS1.9). Accidental violence has a
low relative index (32.8). In the age period 35 to 44 the relative in
dices of tuberculosis of the lungs (124-9), organic diseases of the heart
(123.4), cancer (182.6), and suicide (144-8) are high. Pneumonia is
low (65.4).
age period 45 to 54 the relative indices of tubercu
losis (138.4) an(l cancer (125.4) are high. Pneumonia is again low
26
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
(30.5). Cirrhosis of the liver is very prominent (194*7). Suicide ex
hibits a high relative index (126.9). Accidental violence is low (58.8).
In the age period 55 to 64 tuberculosis maintains a high index (132.6).
The high relative index for cirrhosis of the liver continues (203.2).
Suicide is again high, the relative index being 190.0. Pneumonia
(68.0) and accidental violence (20.0) are both very low. In the age
period 65 and over the various causes of death follow closely the
proportionate mortality for all occupations, with the exception of
suicide, which has a very high index (260.0).
The dusty character of this occupation suggests a high proportion
ate mortality from tuberculosis of the lungs, which is borne out by
the facts. This disease shows a high relative index in every age
period except 65 and over. It is highest at ages 15 to 24 (143.5).
Pneumonia is consistently lower in every age period; the relative in
dex for all ages is 63.9. Bright’s disease is low at ages 35 to 44 (41.0).
It is strikingly high, however, in the age period 65 and over (127.0);
it is of greater significance here, being the principal cause of death in
this well-represented period. Accidental violence is consistently
lower in every age period, the relative index for all ages being
Suicide is of special interest among cigar makers and tobacco workers.
For all ages combined the relative index is 139.1. It is high for every
age division except 25 to 34. The highest proportionate mortality
is in the age period 65 and over, where the relative index is 260.0.
The high proportionate mortality from suicide is corroborated by
the figures of the Prudential experience. At all ages the index was
186.4 in the Prudential returns for this occupational group— a figure
even higher than that of the Metropolitan.
CLERKS, BOOKKEEPERS, AND OFFICE ASSISTANTS. *
There were 4,139 deaths among clerks, bookkeepers, and office
assistants. The following table indicates the distribution of these
deaths by age periods, and the corresponding distribution in all
occupations:
1 2 .—N UM BER AND PER CENT OF DEATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AM ONG C L E R K S,
BO O K K EEPER S, A N D OFFICE A SSIST A N T S, B Y A G E PERIODS, IN COMPARISON
W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Age periods (years).
Ages 15
years
and
over.
15-24
Deaths.......................................................................
4,139
1,307
893
695
518
431
295
Percent of deaths...................................................
100.0
31.6
21.6
16.8
12.5
10.4
7.1
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
Item.
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
CLERKS, BOOKKEEPERS, AND OFFICE
ASSISTANTS.
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths...................................................
1 This title includes bookkeepers, clerks, stenographers, typewriters, office boys, proof readers, copy
holders, post-office clerks, shipping clerks, and stock clerks.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
27
It is evident that there is a heavy preponderance of deaths in the
early age periods; 70.0 per cent of the deaths occurred between
the ages of 15 and 44, as against 41.7 per cent in all occupations.
The first age period, 15 to 24, contains the largest group, 31.6 per
cent of all deaths; the last period, 65 and over, contains only 7.1 per
cent. This accounts for the low average age at death in this occu
pation (36.5 years).
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 1 3 . — NUM BER
AND PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
CLER K S, BO O K K EEPER S, AN D OFFICE A SSIST A N T S , B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S
AN D OVER —W H IT E MALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.0
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Number of deaths...................................
Per
cent.
4,139
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
1,307
893
695
518
431
295
Tuberculosis of the lungs....................... 1,449
Cancer (all forms)....................................
129
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
163
Organic diseases of the heart.................
389
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
292
67
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
306
Bright’s disease........................................
95
Suicide (all forms)...................................
297
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
952
35.0
3.1
46.3
.4
51.2
.7
33.4
2.2
21.6
6.4
8.8
9.7
1.7
9.5
29.4
54.0
3.9
9.4
7.1
1.6
7.4
2.3
7.2
23.0
.3
6.7
5.7
.4
2.8
1.5
11.7
24.1
1.2
6.3
7.2
.3
6.2
3.1
6.4
17.4
2.6
10.6
8.8
2.7
9.4
2.6
5.9
21.8
6.9
10.0
7.1
4.1
9.8
3.3
6.6
24.2
9.7
13.9
9.7
2.1
15.3
1.9
1.8
27.0
17.6
20.0
4.4
3.4
10.8
1.4
1.4
29.8
55.5
42.5
37.6
48.3
44.5
36.6
28.5
Total................................................
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
36.5
4,139
In the age period 15 to 24 tuberculosis of the lungs exhibits a high
proportionate mortality, causing 46.3 per cent of all deaths, as against
33.8 per cent in the general group; the relative index is 137.0. This
is the only notable condition that obtains, unless attention be
called to the low relative index for accidental violence (60.9). At
the age period 25 to 34 tuberculosis is again prominent, the relative
index being 125.2. Bright’s disease also exhibits a high proportionate
mortality, having a relative index of 137.8. The relative index for
accidental violence is low (51.2). In the age period 35 to 44 the rela
tive indices for most of the causes exhibit no significant variations
from those for all occupations. Tuberculosis is now about the average
in its proportion, the relative index being 101.5. Organic diseases
of the heart and Bright’s disease are higher, the relative indices
being 137.7 and 120.5, respectively. As before, accidental violence
is low (59.6). In the age period 45 to 54 tuberculosis is again high
(116.8). Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis are high, the
index being 132.7; that of suicide is 126.9. Accidental violence
continues low (77.6). In the age period 55 to 64 there is little of
interest, except that pneumonia (129.3) is high, and accidental violence
28
BU LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
is low (27.7). In the age period 65 and over cancer (130.1), cerebral
hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis (131.3), and suicide (140.0) loom
up in importance. Accidental violence, as in all periods, is low (31.8).
In this occupation tuberculosis of the lungs is the primary consid
eration throughout the working period of life, but more especially at
the younger ages. For all ages combined, clerks, bookkeepers, and
office assistants lead all the occupations listed, in the high index of
mortality from this cause (170.7). Confirmation of this high pro
portionate mortality is found in numerous previous investigations.
In Hoffman’s series the index is 167.6 for all ages; the returns of the
Registrar General give 180.3 for commercial clerks; and on the basis
of the United States Census Bureau investigation of 1908 the figure
is 178.7. These high figures for all ages combined must not be taken
too literally, however, in view of the peculiar age distribution of the
deaths recorded in this occupation. As was pointed out above, nearly
one-third of all deaths in this occupation occurred in the first age
period, 15 to 24. More than one-half of all the deaths occurred in
the first two age periods (under age 35). Since it is in these age
periods that the high mortality from tuberculosis occurs, the effect on
all ages is to exaggerate the proportionate mortality from this cause.
It is in the earlier age periods that the preponderance of tubercu
losis as a cause of death among clerks, bookkeepers, and office assist
ants is beyond question. Not only are the relative indices of mor
tality high, as has been shown above, being 137.0 in the age period
15 to 24 and 125.2 in the following age period (which figures are in
general agreement with those of other sources), but the death rates
from tuberculosis as reported in the returns of the Registrar General
for the age period 15 to 24 in the allied group of “ clerks in the insur
ance service” are 50 per cent higher than in all occupations; in the
age period 25 to 34 they are 25 per cent higher. In this instance the
findings of proportionate mortality are confirmed by the death
rates which are a much truer measure of the prevalence of a
cause of death. From age 35 onward, the figures for the propor
tionate mortality from tuberculosis are inconstant, as shown by
all investigations.
Among other causes of death, organic diseases of the heart exhibit
a high relative index between ages 15 and 44; thereafter the indices
are low. Accidental violence is uniformly very low in its propor
tionate mortality, the highest relative index being 77.6 at the age
period 45 to 54.
COAL M INERS.1
There were 1,557 deaths among coal miners. The table following
indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods, and the corre
sponding distribution in all occupations.
'This title includes foremen and workmen in coal mines: line drivers, pit miners (in coal mines only),
cagers,crib men, drillers, laborers in coal mines, trimmers, shaft tenders, and timbermen in coal mines.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
29
1 4 .— N UM BER AND PER CENT OF DEATH S FROM A L L CAUSES, AMONG COAL
MINERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A LL OCCUPATIONS— W H IT E
M ALES.
T a b le
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
COAL MINERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
1,557
151
135
182
319
407
363
Per cent of deaths...................................................
100.0
9.7
8.7
11.7
20.5
26.1
23.3
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Percent of deaths...................................................
A considerably larger proportion of the deaths in this occupation
occurred after the age of 44—69.9 per cent, as against 58.3 per cent
in all occupations. The average age at death is 51.3 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b le
1 5 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF DEATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
COAL MINERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D OVER —W H IT E MALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
151
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
Number of deaths................................I.
1,557
135
182
319
407
363
Influenza....................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.......... *.....................................
Organic diseases o f the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis...............
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
23
91
71
1.5
5.8
4.6
0.7
4.0
.7
11.9
1.5
1.6
12.1
2.7
0.6
6.6
3.4
2.2
3.4
6.9
2.2
3.3
6.6
58.9
45.8
58.9
94
149
49
161
37
116
18
317
431
6.0
9.6
3.1
10.3
2.4
7.5
1.2
20.4
27.7
.7
2.6
.7
4.4
4.6
4.1
8.8
1.6
14.7
4.1
7.8
2.2
15 7
30.4
7.6
10.8
4.2
11.3
2.9
11.5
.7
10.3
28.0
12.4
15.2
6.9
8.8
2.5
8.3
.7
62.9
23.2
7.4
.7
1.5
2.2
43.7
25.9
1.6
6.6
1.1
10.4
1.1
6.6
2.2
30.7
22.9
4.1
29.9
62.3
57.9
63.6
53.1
56.4
58.3
44.6
36.6
Total................................................
1,557
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
51.3
In the age period 15 to 24, tuberculosis of the lungs is of small con
sequence, causing only 4 per cent of all deaths, as compared with
33.8 per cent in the general group. Its relative index is 11.8. Or
ganic diseases of the heart are low (44-8), as is also suicide (25.0).
On the other hand, accidental violence shows a relative index of
327.6. In the age period 25 to 34 practically the same general con
ditions are observed. Tuberculosis of the lungs is very low (29.1),
and accidental violence remains high (349.6). In the age period 35
to 44 the relative index for tuberculosis of the lungs is 36.8. Influ
enza and the respiratory diseases exhibit a high proportionate mor
tality. The relative index for influenza is 266.7, that for bronchitis
366.7, and that for pneumonia 128.4• Suicide exhibits a relative index
30
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
of 75.9 and accidental violence remains high with an index of 310.1.
In the age period 45 to 54 no new variations are noted. Tubercu
losis of the lungs is 35.7; bronchitis and pneumonia remain high,
the relative indices being, respectively, 266.7 and 179.3. Accidental
violence, though lower than in the previous age periods, is still high
(184-7). In the age period 55 to 64 the relative index for tuberculosis
of the lungs is low (39.5); for bronchitis (381.8) and for pneumonia
(150.7) it is high. Accidental violence still remains high, with a
relative index of 158.5. In the age period 65 and over the relative
indices for bronchitis (363.2) and pneumonia (139.7) are high.
The low proportionate mortality from tuberculosis of the lungs
among coal miners is a matter of general record. The data of the
Registrar General of England and Wales, and of Hoffman, in his
occupational mortality statistics of the Prudential, give very low
indices for pulmonary tuberculosis; for all ages combined the data of
the former show 64-5, and of the latter 50.7. The Metropolitan index
of 28.3 is the least recorded. Coal miners seem to be relatively free
from pulmonary tuberculosis at every age period from 15 years to 65.
The death rates from tuberculosis of the lungs also point to this conclu
sion. Thus the Registrar General of England and Wales reports that
the death rate from phthisis among coal miners at the age period
15 to 24 is 70.6 per 100,000 living. This rate is 68.1 per cent of
that prevailing for all occupied males.
The low tuberculosis rate among coal miners is, moreover, coupled
with a high rate from accidental violence. This is characteristic of
all age periods, but especially up to age 45. For all ages the rela
tive index of accidental violence is 219.4• Between the ages of 15
and 44 the relative indices are all over 300. The age period 45 to 54
has a relative index of 184-7; in the age period 55 to 64 the index is
158.5. In the last age period, 65 and over, it is only 93.2. The
Prudential experience is very nearly the same as that of the Metro
politan; for all ages the relative index is 246.2. The index for the
material of the Registrar General’s office is 256.9. The above figures
show clearly the effect of the dangers of the occupation upon the
mortality of coal miners.
The low proportionate mortality from tuberculosis of the lungs and
the high proportionate mortality from accidental violence are closely
related phenomena; it is evident that deaths from accidental vio
lence, especially at the earlier ages, tend to decrease the number of
deaths that would ordinarily have been reported from tuberculosis.
The proportion of miners who die from accidents but who are also
affected with tuberculosis can be determined only by a special investi
gation. It may at first thought appear that the low tuberculosis
rate is a direct consequence of the high rate from accidents, and that
we are really not concerned with a true immunity against tubercu
losis in this occupation. The weight of much indirect evidence is,
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
31
however, strongly in favor of the theory of such a relative immunity.
Thus we find a high proportionate mortality from pneumonia among
coal miners at all ages; the index is 143,1. After age 25 the index
is uniformly higher than for all occupations. The same may be said
with reference to the proportionate mortality from acute and chronic
bronchitis after age 34. Coal miners, therefore, show a high repre
sentation of the respiratory diseases. This is clear even in the pres
ence of the high accident rate.
Much more convincing, however, is the fact that in other occupa
tions we find high accident proportions together with almost average
proportions from pulmonary tuberculosis. Thus among railway
enginemen and trainmen at all ages 42.4 per cent of all deaths are
due to accidental violence, and 14.0 per cent of all deaths are from
pulmonary tuberculosis. In this occupation the accident proportion
is much higher than among coal miners, and yet the relative incidence
of tuberculosis is two and a half times as high. In like manner rail
way track and yard workers show, in the age period 15 to 24, a
mortality from accidental violence amounting to 43.5 per cent of
the deaths from all causes, and yet have a proportion of 18.6 per
cent from tuberculosis of the lungs. In both these occupations the
proportionate mortality from tuberculosis is high enough to show
that the condition among coal miners is not necessarily the result of
the accident situation. From all the evidence we must conclude,
therefore, that the low tuberculosis mortality of coal miners is the
resultant of occupational conditions which in some manner protect
them from the fatal consequence of tuberculous infection. Future
medical research alone can determine just what the nature of the
protective factor is.
•
COMPOSITORS AND PRINTERS. *
There were 1,056 deaths in this industrial group. The following
table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods, and
the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
1 6 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG COMPOSI
TORS AND PRINTERS, B Y AG15 PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—
W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
COMPOSITORS AND PRINTERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
1,056
217
221
225
176
120
97
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
20.5
20.9
21.3
16.7
11.4
9.2
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
i This title includes foremen and workmen: compositors, type printers, typesetters, typographers, plate
printers, job printers, pressmen, press feeders, and linotype operators.
56505°—Bull. 207—17----- 3
32
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The greater number of deaths occurred between the ages of 15
and 44, 62.7 per cent being accounted for between these ages, as
against 41.7 per cent for all occupations. The average age at death
is 40.2 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
NU M BER AN D P E R CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
COMPOSITORS AN D PR IN T E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S AN D OVER —W H IT E
M ALES.
T a b le 1 7 .—
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
Number of deaths...................................
1,056
217
221
225
176
120
97
Typhoid fever...........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)----Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
22
360
28
2.1
34.1
2.7
3.2
45.2
.9
475
49.8
.5
1.8
39.1
1.3
0.6
23.9
5.1
15.8
5.0
3.1
7.2
27.9
33.5
54.0
38
118
52
19
94
19
62
244
3.6
11.2
4.9
1.8
8.9
1.8
5.9
23.1
6.0
4.6
.5
1.4
3.2
10.1
24.9
.9
5.9
7.2
.5
3.6
3.2
5.4
18.8
2.2
10.2
2.7
1.3
10.7
1.3
4.8
24.4
6.8
13.1
5.1
2.3
18.2
.6
7.4
17.1
5.8
19.2
5.8
6.7
11.7
1.7
28.3
12.4
23.7
4.1
2.1
13.4
1.0
2.1
30.9
56.9
48.2
39.7
52.1
48.7
30.6
33.9
Total................................................
1,056
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
40.2
In the age period 15 to 24 the relative index of tuberculosis of
the lungs is high (133.7); this cause accounts for 45.2 per cent of all
deaths, as against 33.8 per cent in the general group. Accidental
violence has a low index (52.6). In the period 25 to 34 tuberculosis
of the lungs is somewhat lower than in the previous age period,
though still high (121.8). Bright's disease is low (80.0) and acci
dental violence is still lower (43.2). In the age period 35 to 44
tuberculosis of the lungs (118.8) and organic'diseases of the heart
(132.5) are both high. Bright’s disease is high (137.2). Pneumonia
is very low (33.3). Both suicide (44-8) and accidental violence (48.5)
exhibit low relative indices. In the age division 45 to 54 the high
relative index for tuberculosis of the lungs is maintained (129.2).
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis loom up as important
in this age period; the relative index is 130.8. The index for pneu
monia remains low (62.2); Bright’s disease is even higher than in
the previous age period (164-0). Suicide remains low as before (23.1),
and accidental violence shows an increase over the previous age
period (87.1). In the age period 55 to 64 tuberculosis of the lungs
shows a very high relative index (183.7). Organic diseases of the
heart (120.8) are somewhat higher than the average and pneumonia
is lower (77.3). Accidental violence is very low (26.2). There are
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
33
no cases of suicide in this age group. In the age period 65 and over
the cases in which variations from all occupations are noted are too
few to warrant discussion.
For every age division tuberculosis of the lungs shows a higher
proportionate mortality than in the general group. For all ages the
relative index is 166.3. The index is highest in the age period 55 to
64, being 183.7. Confirmatory figures are provided by the returns
of the United States Census Bureau C198.7 for all ages), the Registrar
General (216.4), and the Prudential (175.3). All these figures are
higher than those quoted for the Metropolitan experience. The high
proportionate mortality definitely marks this occupation as one in
which environment favors the development of pulmonary tubercu
losis. All investigators are agreed as to this, yet there is a diversity
of opinion as to the exact causative factor. Some point to the
exposure to lead dust as important in this connection. In the Metro
politan experience, to be sure, only four deaths from lead poisoning
are recorded. It must not be inferred, however, that the exposure
to lead is not a serious factor in the causation of tuberculosis. A
similar relation has been suggested between lead poisoning and
Bright’s disease, which also shows a high proportionate mortality in
the age periods 35 to 44 and 45 to 54, the relative indices being 137.2
and 164*0, respectively.
Organic diseases of the heart show a higher proportionate mortality *
among compositors and printers than in all occupations at every age
period, possibly a result of slow lead poisoning. The highest index
occurs in the age period 35 to 44 (132.5). Accidental violence is
lower in every age period; for all ages the relative index is 63.4•
RAILWAY ENGINEMEN AND TRAINMEN, i
There were 947 deaths among enginemen and trainmen. The
following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
1 8 —N U M B ER AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG
R A IL W A Y ENGINEMEN A N D TRAINMEN, B Y AG E PER IO D S, IN COMPARISON W IT H
A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
ENGINEMEN AND TRAINMEN.
D e a th s.....................
.......................................
947
203
300
173
109
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
21.4
31.7
18.3
11.5
m o
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
04
~ 1
9.9
65 and
over.
as
7.2
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
20.3
20.3
i This title includes railway engineers and firemen operating freight or passenger trains—coal or oil burn
ing locomotives; railway trainmen, freight (conductors, brakemen, flagmen, and trainmen); railway train
men, passenger (conductors, brakemen, dining-car coofcs and waiters, baggagemen, flagmen, Pullman
porters, railway mail and express employees, and ticket collectors).
34
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
There is a great preponderance of deaths in the early age divisions;
71.4 per cent in this group, as against 41.7 per cent in all occupations
combined, occur between the ages 15 and 44. Hence the average age
at death is very low (37.4 years).
The following table analyzes the mortality of eaoh age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 1 9 .— N U M B E R AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES
AMONG R A IL W A Y ENGINEM EN AN D T R A IN M E N , B Y AG E PER IO D S, 15 Y E A R S A N D
OVER —W H IT E M ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
203
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
Number of deaths...................................
947
300
173
109
94
68
Typhoid fever...........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)...................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
26
133
19
2.7
14.0
2.0
4.9
11.8
1.0
3.3
14.7
.7
3.5
24.9
1.7
13.8
.9
7.4
5.3
8.8
32
51
48
12
52
23
401
150
3.4
5.4
1.0
5.1
2.0
1.3
5.5 ‘ " i .o *
2.4
2.5
66.5
42.3
9.4
15.8
.3
1.3
4.7
.7
2.0
2.3
57.7
12.2
1.2
5.2
6.9
1.2
7.5
2.9
30.0
15.1
6.4
10.1
9.2
4.6
9.2
2.8
18.3
24.7
13.8
13.8
6.4
2.1
10.6
2.1
17.1*
21.3
13.2
17.6
2.9
1.5
16.2
1.5
7.4
30.9
68.4
52.2
41.1
47.7
50.0
36.7
30.1
Total................................................
947
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
37.4
100.0
28.1
34.8
51.2
In the age period 15 to 24 all the important causes of death, with
the exception of accidental violence, are low in proportionate repre
sentation. The relative index for tuberculosis of the lungs is 34-9, the
proportionate mortality being only 11.8 per cent, as against 33.8 per
cent in the general group. The index for pneumonia is 37,0; that of
suicide is 89.3. Accidental violence is exceedingly high (346.4)/ of all
deaths in this age period, 66.5 per cent are accounted for by this
cause. In the age period 25 to 34 the relative index of typhoid fever
is high (122.2); added weight should be given to this cause of death by
reason of the fact that the excessively high proportionate mortality
from accidental violence (461.6) makes the percentages of all other
causes appear disproportionately small. There is no question that,
because of this peculiar effect, the proportionate mortalities from
tuberculosis of the lungs (35.9), pneumonia (64-4), and Bright’s
disease (44-4) ar^ too low. In the age period 35 to 44 typhoid
fever is again very high (250,0). Tuberculosis of the lungs (75.7)
and pneumonia (85.2) remain below the average. Accidental vio
lence is still excessively high (303.0), and the effects upon the
other causes of death are not so marked now as in the other age
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
35
periods. In this age division only 30.0 per cent of deaths resulted
from accidental violence. In the age period 45 to 54 the relative index
from tuberculosis of the lungs is low (74*6). Pneumonia is now high
(112.2). Bright’s disease is lower (82.9), and accidental violence is
still very high (215.3). In the age period 55 to 64 cerebral hemorrhage,
apoplexy, and paralysis are high (143.8). Pneumonia and Bright’s
disease are low, the relative indices being 85.3 and 79.7. Accidental
violence remains high (263.1). In the age period 65 and over the
relative ijidex from cancer is 120.5. That of pneumonia is 46-0.
Bright’s disease is rather high (118.2), and accidental violence, as in
all the previous age periods, is high (168.2).
Typhoid fever exhibits a high proportionate mortality in the age
groups 25 to 34 and 35 to 44; in the former the index is 122.2 and in
the latter it is 250.0. The high proportionate mortality exhibited by
typhoid fever is undoubtedly due to the questionable water supplies
used by the men in this occupation. Tuberculosis is very low for
all ages (68.3) and for each age period. It is exceptionally low for the
age periods 15 to 24 (34-9) and 25 to 34 (35.9). For the age period
35 to 44 the relative index is 75.7. The index for the age period 45
to 54 is 74-6'> for the age period 55 to 64 it is 86.0. In the last age
division there are no cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. The low
proportionate mortality from pulmonary tuberculosis is probably
more apparent than real, the conditions found being largely the result
of the very high proportionate mortality from accidental violence.
Men who are killed by accident can not die of tuberculosis as well.
The same fact probably explains the low proportionate mortality of
cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis (54*8), organic diseases
of the heart (45.0), and Bright’s disease (57.3). These causes are of
greater importance in the later age periods, ages 55 and over. Since
but few of the deaths, 17.1 per cent, occurred in these age divi
sions among enginemen and trainmen, the proportionate mortality
from these causes is underweighted at all ages.
As may be expected, the proportionate mortality from accidental
violence is excessively high among railway enginemen and train
men, the lowest index, between the ages of 15 and 64, being over 200
and the highest over 400. For all ages the relative index is 454-8*
Between the ages of 15 and 24 the index is 346.4;
the age division
25 to 34 the highest relative index is exhibited (461.6); for the age
period 35 to 44 the index is 303.0; the age periods 45 to 54 and 65
and over show the lowest proportionate mortalities (the relative in
dices being 215,3 and 168.2, respectively). At the age period 55 to
64 the index is 263.1.
The figures of the United States Census for 1908 for accidents
among steam railroad employees confirm very strongly the experi-
36
BU LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
once of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. For all ages the rela
tive index is 493.3. Between the ages of 20 and 34 the relative
indices are about 350. After age 35 the relative indices are over JfiO.
Yet the figures of the Registrar General indicate an excessive pro
portionate mortality due to accidents among enginemen and train
men, the relative index for all ages, 277.6, being appreciably lower
than the indices of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in the various
age periods.
The English experience does not show the same frightful mortality
from this cause that the American figures reveal.
FARMERS AND FARM LABORERS.1
This class of industrial workers of the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Co. has been chosen with a view to demonstrating the absence rather
than the presence of any one outstanding cause of death, there being
no particular occupational influence conducive to a specific cause of
death.
There were 3,890 deaths among farmers and farm laborers. The
following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods,
and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
3 0 .—N UM BER AN D PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG FAR M ER S
A N D FARM LABO R ER S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPA
TIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
FARMERS AND FARM LABORERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
3,890
239
198
266
431
1,008
1,748
Per cent of deaths...................................................
100.0
6.1
5.1
6.8
11.1
25.9
44.9
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths...................................................
There is a great preponderance of deaths in the later age periods;
81.9 per cent of all deaths occurred after the age of 44, as against 58.3
per cent for all occupations, and 44.9 per cent occurred after age
64. The average age at death is consequently very high, 58.5 years.
Table 2 analyzes the mortality of each age class, by cause of death.
At the age period 15 to 24 tuberculosis of the lungs exhibits a low
proportionate mortality, 26.8 per cent, as against 33.8 per cent for
all occupations, the relative index being 79.3. Typhoid fever (176.9),
pneumonia (155.6), suicide (164.3), and accidental violence (132.8)
are all high.
1 This title includes farmers and planters, florists and flower growers (not including storekeepers), fruit
growers, gardeners, nurserymen, turpentine farmers, orchardists, farm laborers, and dairy farmers.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
37
T ab le 2 1 .—NU M BER A N D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
FARM ERS A N D FARM L ABO R ER S, B Y AGE PER IO D S, 15 Y E A R S A N D O V E R W H IT E MALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
Number of deaths...................................
3,890
15-24
239
53
Typhoid fever...........................................
Influenza....................................................
53
378
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
295
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
379
641
Organic diseases of the heart.................
241
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
81
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
350
Bright’s disease........................................
84
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
316
All other causes........................................ 1,019
1.4
9.2
1.4
9.7 ’ *26*8*
7.6
2.1
9.7
16.5
6.2
2.1
9.0
2.2
8.1
26.2
.8
5.9
8.4
.4
1.3
4.6
25.5
15.1
Total................................................ 3,890
100.0
100.0
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
198
266
431
1,008
1,748
5.1
1.0
31.8
1.5
1.9
1.1
30.5
4.1
0.7
1.6
13.9
6.0
0.8
1.6
6.7
10.4
0.3
1.4
2.4
8.3
2.5
3.5
6.6
5.1
2.0
16.2
24.7
1.5
6.8
7.1
1.9
3.0
4.1
11.3
26.8
4.4
13.7
7.7
3.7
10.2
3.0
9.0
26.0
18.5
5.9
2.9
9.0
2.6
8.0
23.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
9 .8
Aver
age
age at
death.
35.5
61.4
43.2
62.5
14.3
66.4
20.4
63.6
5.5
56.1
1.7
60.0
11.1
63.5
1.1
50.8
4.3
46.8
29/. 1 ...........
100.0
58.5
In the age period 25 to 34 typhoid fever is very high (188.9).
Tuberculosis of the lungs has practically the same relative position
as it had in the previous age period (77.8). In the age period 35 to
44 suicide becomes prominent (141*4)- Accidental violence decreases
(114-1)- In the age period 45 to 54 the relative index of tubercu
losis of the lungs is 75.1. Organic diseases of the heart become
higher (123.4). I*1 the age period 55 to 64 the index of accidental
violence is 123.1, and the diseases which are generally associated with
old age are high; cancer has an index of 119.5 and organic diseases
of the heart show 116.4. Suicide is high (130.0). In the age period
65 and over cancer remains high (113.7); all the other causes of death
follow very closely the proportionate mortality for all occupations.
Typhoid fever is high for the periods 15 to 24, 25 to 34, and 35 to
44, the relative indices being 176.9, 188.9, and 135.7, respectively.
The high proportionate mortality from typhoid fever is in accord
with common experience. It is well known that farmers do not, as
a rule, have access to a pure water supply, often having recourse to
wells which are polluted. After age 25 farmers also suffer more from
influenza than do the workers in all occupations. In the age
period 55 to 64 the relative index is 160.0; at 65 and over it is 107.7.
For all ages the relative index is 175.0. Tuberculosis of the lungs is
lower for every age period. For all ages it is 47.3; in most age periods
the relative indices are slightly higher than 75. Cancer is higher in
all ages (155.1), and is considerably higher in most age periods. It
becomes important after age 54. For the age period 55 to 64 the
relative index is 119.5, and for the age period 65 and over it is 113.7.
38
BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis, like cancer, become
important only after age 54. For the age period 55 to 64 the relative
index is 102.1; for the age period 65 and over it is 106.7. For all
ages combined organic diseases of the heart are higher (187.5) than
in the general group, but they are significantly higher only for the
age period 45 to 54 (123.4) and the age period 55 to 64 (116.4)* At
the age period 65 and over the relative index is 100.0, the propor
tionate mortality being exactly equal to that of all occupations.
Pneumonia is lower than in the general group, for all age periods
except 15 to 24, where the relative index is very high (155.6). For
the other age periods the index fluctuates about 80. For all ages it
is 86.1.
It is surprising that, for all ages, suicide should exhibit almost as
high a proportionate mortality among farmers and farm laborers as
in all occupations, and even higher proportionate mortalities in most
age periods. Thus at ages 15 to 24 the relative index is 164-3; in the
next age period it is low (64-5), but after age 35 it is consistently
higher, ranging from 141'4j in the age period 35 to 44, to 110.0, in the
age period 65 and over. In this occupation there is no industrial
stress; that health conditions and habits are good is a matter of
common knowledge, and yet we find this peculiar condition regarding
suicide. That this is not a chance circumstance is proved by the
figures given by Hoffman in the Prudential experience. From them
is also obtained a very high relative index for the age period 15 to 24
(160.7). For the age period 45 to 64 is obtained a relative index of
108.7. The United States Census reports show, for the age periods
20 to 24, 25 to 34, 45 to 54, and 55 to 64, higher indices for suicide
among farmers and farm laborers than among all occupations.
Among farmers and farm laborers it is to be noted that those
diseases are prevalent which are associated with old age. Among
these are cancer, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis, and
organic diseases of the heart. These causes of death show high
indices in the age periods after 54; combined with the great pre
ponderance of deaths in the periods referred to, their effect is to
weight heavily the proportionate representation of these causes in
the figures for all ages.
Alcoholism, cirrhosis of the liver, and Bright’s disease are all low,
as is also pneumonia. This experience does not reveal any occupa
tional diseases prevalent among farmers.
IRON MOLDERS.1
There were 1,646 deaths among iron molders. The table following
indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods, and the corre
sponding distribution in all occupations.
i This title includes foremen and workmen in iron foundries; molders, core makers, bushelers, chipperSj
cupola tenders, pourers, and scratchers. (Iron and steel mill workers are excluded.)
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
39
22 .—N U M BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG IRON MOLD
ERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E
MALES.
T a b le
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
IRON MOLDERS.
Deaths......................................................................
1,646
138
226
310
341
345
286
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
8.4
13.7
18.8
20.7
21.0
17.4
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
It is evident from the foregoing that the deaths are distributed
in almost the same ratio as in all occupations. The average age
at death is therefore very nearly the same, 48.0 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b le
23 .—NU M BER AND PER CENT OF DEATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
IRON MOLDERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S AN D OVER—W H IT E M ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Aver
age
age at
death.
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
138
226
310
341
345
286
7.2
34.8
1.4
.7
4.0
35.0
1.3
.9
2.9
37.1
1.0
1.3
22.3
5.3
.9
9.0
7.5
1.7
0.3
3.5
4.2
.3
30.1
39.3
55.0
46.1
2.3
6.1
9.4
1.9
3.5
5.5
9.1
19.9
5.3
12.0
12.6
2.6
10.0
2.1
9.1
17.8
9.9
20.0
10.4
3.8
11.0
2.3
4.4
20.0
11.5
25.2
10.8
2.8
11.5
.3
2.8
26.8
59.3
57.6
48.4
53.6
54.9
41.7
40.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
,100.0
48.0
Number of deaths...................................
1,646
Typhoid fever..........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Alcoholism................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver...............................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes.......................................
29
360
64
17
1.8
21.9
3.9
1.0
95
216
175
38
131
45
126
350
5.8
13.1
10.6
2.3
8.0
2.7
7.7
21.3
.7
2.2
15.2
23.4
1.3
4.0
9.7
.9
6.2
4.0
10.2
22.5
Total................................................ 1,646 | 100.0
100.0
100.0
4.3
10.1
In the age period 15 to 24 typhoid fever is high, having a propor
tionate mortality of 7.2 per cent as compared with 5.2 per cent
(relative index, 138.5), and pneumonia is very high (187.0). In the
age period 25 to 34 typhoid fever, pneumonia, Bright’s disease, and
suicide are all high, the percentages being about one-third to onehalf more than the average for all occupations. The relative indices
are 148.1, 132.9, 137.8, and 129.0, respectively. In the age period
35 to 44 typhoid fever is very high (207.1), and pneumonia is rather
high (116.0), whereas Bright’s disease is very low (44-9)* Suicide is
very high (189.7). At ages 45 to 54 tuberculosis of the lungs (120.5)
40
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
and pneumonia (153.7) are high. In the age period 55 to 64 the index
for alcoholism is high (283.3), although based on few deaths. We
might expect from this that cirrhosis of the liver would show a very
high index. This is not true, though the relative index (122.6) is
considerably above the normal. Organic diseases of the heart (125.8)
and pneumonia (138.7) are both high. Suicide is high (115.0). In
the age period 65 and over the relative index of organic diseases of
the heart is 123.5. Pneumonia and cirrhosis of the liver are both very
high, the former having a relative index of 171.4 and the latter 155.6.
Typhoid fever is high for the age periods between 15 and 44, the
proportionate mortality being about one-third higher than that of
the general group in the age period 15 to 24, and one-half higher in
the period 25 to 34. At ages 35 to 44 it is more than twice as high.
These facts seem to indicate the effect of the use of water supplies
not sufficiently safeguarded.
The relative indices for tuberculosis of the lungs among iron
molders do not indicate any wide variations from the normal. Be
tween the ages of 15 and 34 they are equal to or below the normal.
For the age period 35 to 44 the relative index is 112.8, and for 45 to 54
it is 120.5. The index clearly increases with age and duration of serv
ice. Not enough deaths are attributed to alcoholism to enable us
to draw safe conclusions, although there seems to be an indication
of an excessive use of alcohol. The relative index for all ages com
bined is 111.1, and in the age period 55 to 64 there is a relative index
of 283.3.
Organic diseases of the heart are high at all ages (109.2) and in the
age periods after 44, where this cause of death becomes of numerical
importance. In the age period 45 to 54 the relative index is 108.1;
between 55 and 64 it is 125.8; and at ages 65 and over it is 123.5.
The high indices for organic diseases of the heart are thoroughly in
accord with the facts already established. Sir Thomas Oliver1
Bays that “ puddling is such very hard work that many of the men
develop heart affection.”
The Metropolitan Life Insurance experience also shows that, of all
occupations, that of iron molders has the highest percentage of
deaths from pneumonia at all ages combined and in each age period.
For all ages the relative index is 147.2. Between the ages of 15 and
24 the index is 187.0; between 25 and 34 it is 132.9; between 35 and
44 it is 116.0; between 45 and 54 it is 153.7; between 55 and 64 it
is 138.7; and at ages 65 and over it is particularly high—171.4•
Cirrhosis of the liver is normal for all ages (100.0). In the age
period 55 to 64 the index is 122.6, and at ages 65 and over it is 155.6.
Suicide is higher for all ages (117.4)j and varies for the various age
periods. At the age periods 15 to 24, 45 to 54, and 65 and over the
relative indices are lower than the average; for the remaining age
i Oliver, Thomas: Dangerous Trades.
London, 1908.
P. 756.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
41
periods, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, and 55 to 64, the indices are higher.
Accidental violence exhibits no important variations. For all ages
the relative index is 82.8; the relative indices are below the normal
for all the age periods except 45 to 54.
LABORERS. 1
There were 10,748 deaths among laborers. The following table
indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods, and the
corresponding distribution in all occupations:
2 4 .—NUM BER AND PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG LABORERS
B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Age periods (years).
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Item.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
LABORERS.
Deaths......................................................................
10,748
622
1,026
1,453
2,049
2,732
2,866
Per cent of deaths...................................................
100.0
5.8
9.5
13.5
19.1
25.4
26.7
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
It is evident that the periods after age 44 have an excess of deaths
over all occupations; 71.2 per cent of the deaths occurred as against
58.3 per cent. The average age at death is 52.8 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b le
25 .—NU M BER AND PER CENT OF D EATHS FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
LABORERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S AN D OVER—W H IT E MALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
Number of deaths................................... 10,748
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
622
1,026
1,453
2,049
2,732
2,866
113
1,760
594
117
1.1
16.4
5.5
1.1
6.3
30.5
.5
3.0
34.8
.8
2.3
0. 7
33.9
3.3
2.5
0.9
20.1
5.1
1.8
0.3
8.1
8.6
.5
0.2
3.1
6.8
.2
34.6
41.8
59.1
44.2
746
1,517
123
964
206
1,055
186
889
2, 478
6.9
14.1
1.1
9.0
1.9
9.8
1.7
8.3
23.0
.6
4.2
.3
5.6
.2
1.8
4.8
21.6
23.8
1.2
6.7
.2
10.3
1.0
5.4
2.9
11.7
19.7
2.0
7.1
.3
9.7
1.5
6.8
2.1
10.6
19.3
5.4
11.8
.6
9.5
2.8
10.2
1.5
9.2
21.1
10.0
15.7
1.6
9.8
2.8
11.9
1.7
6.5
22.5
11.1
22.7
2.0
7.6
1.4
12.5
.7
4.1
27.5
61.6
59.2
62.6
52.5
55.2
57.7
44.9
44.6
Total................................................ 10,748
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
52.8
Typhoid fever..........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Alcoholism................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis...............
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver...............................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
l This title includes simply laborers of undefined classification.
42
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
For the age period 15 to 24 typhoid fever has a proportionate
mortality of 6.3 per cent as against 5.2 per cent for all occupations
(index, 121.2), The index for suicide is very high (171.4), and acci
dental violence exhibits a high proportionate mortality (112.5), At
the age period 25 to 34 typhoid fever is again high (111.1). Alcoholism
is excessively high (164*3). Organic diseases of the heart (124*1),
pneumonia (141.1), and Bright’s disease (120.0) are all high. In the
age period 35 to 44 alcoholism (119.0) and pneumonia (119.8) are
high. In the age period 45 to 54 tuberculosis of the lungs (108.6) is
slightly higher than for all occupations. Alcoholism (128.6), pneu
monia (115.9), and accidental violence (108.2) are also high. In the
age period 55 to 64 bronchitis (145.5) and pneumonia (130.7) exhibit
high relative indices. In the age period 65 and over organic diseases
of the heart have an index of 111.3 and pneumonia has 120.6.
Typhoid fever is more frequent, proportionately, in this occupatign
than in the general group. In the age periods 15 to 24 and 25 to 34
the relative indices are 121.2 and 111 1, respectively. The relative
indices for pulmonary tuberculosis fluctuate but slightly in the various
age periods. For all ages the relative index is 80.0. For the age
period 15 to 24 it is 90.2, and for 25 to 34 it is 85.1. After age 34 the
variations possess little significance. The lower proportionate
mortality is explainable by the nature of the work done by laborers;
they are kept out of doors for the most part. Bertillon likewise
finds that pulmonary tuberculosis is infrequent in most occupations
carried on in the open air and involving muscular exercise. This
very condition would lead us to suspect that the respiratory diseases,
and especially pneumonia, would cause a higher proportionate mor
tality. It will be seen that this is true.
The proportionate mortality due to cancer is high, the relative
index for all ages being 112.2. This would not appear from an exami
nation of the age divisions, however, because of the fact that among
laborers the later age groups are weighted heavily. Alcoholism is
higher than normal for ages 15 and over (122.2), 25 to 34 (164*3), 35 to
44 (119.0), and 45 to 54 (128.6); it is lower for the next period and nor
mal for the last. Organic diseases of the heart are considerably higher
for all ages (117.5), although the index is alternately above and below
100 in the periods after age 15. As among iron molders, a causal
relation can be said to exist between organic diseases of the heart and
the hard work done by laborers. As remarked above, the fact that
laborers are exposed to the wind, rain, and cold leads to a high pro
portionate mortality from the respiratory diseases. Bronchitis is
high for all ages (122.2); for the age period 55 to 64 the index is 145.5.
and for ages 65 and over it is 105.3. Pneumonia is high for all ages
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
43
(125.0). In every age period the percentage is higher than that
found in the general group. Between the ages of 15 and 24 the rel
ative index is 108.7. In the age period 25 to 34 the index is 14U ,
and between the ages 35 and 44 it is 119.8. At ages 45 to 54 it is 115.9,
and at 55 to 64 it is 130.7. It is 120.6 at the last age period, 65 and
over.
Suicide is markedly low for all ages (73.9) and for each age division
except 15 to 24, where the relative index is 171.4. After age 24, the
highest relative index is in the age period 25 to 34 (93.5), and the
lowest is in the age period 45 to 54 (57.7). Mental stress is at a
minimum in this occupation, and the kind of man employed is
usually one who, at the most, is not concerned much with the hubbub
of life, and consequently does not experience the worries associated
with other occupations. This condition reflects itself in the indices
for suicides.
It is rather surprising that accidental violence among laborers
should occupy an almost normal position. For all ages the relative
index is 89.2. In the age period 15 to 24 there is an indication of a
higher mortality from this cause, the relative index being 112.5.
Thereafter the indices are slightly higher or lower than those of the
general group.
LONGSHOREMEN AND STEVEDORES. *
There were 651 deaths among longshoremen and stevedores. The
following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
2 6 .—NUM BER AND PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG LONG
SHOREMEN AND STEVEDORES, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCU
PATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages
15
years
and
over.
Age periods (years)—
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
LONGSHOREMEN AND STEVEDORES.
Deaths.......................................................................
651
18
100
173
174
116
70
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
2.8
15.4
26.6
26.7
17.8
10.8
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
Most of the deaths occurred in the main working periods of life;
86.5 per cent are accounted for between the ages of 25 and 64 as
1 This title includes dockmen, dock hands, dock laborers, dock-wallopers, longshoremen, stevedores,
ship laborers, ship unloaders.
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
44
against 67.9 per cent in all occupations. More than half of the
deaths, 53.3 per cent, occurred between the ages of 35 and 54 as
compared with 33.9 per cent. The average age at de*ath is 47 years—
a figure slightly below the average for the general group.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
2 7 .—N UM BER AND PER CENT OF D EATHS FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
LONGSHOREM EN AN D STEVED O R ES, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O V E R W H IT E MALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period (years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Aver
55-64 65 and age
over. age at
death.
Per
cent.
15-24
18
100
173
174
116
70
27.8
46.0
38.2
2.3
32.2
3.4
12:1
14.7
4.3
1.4
41.7
53.9
4.0
11.0
3.0
3.0
15.0
18.0
1.2
6.4
8.1
6.4
1.2
16.1
20.1
2.9
13.2
9.8
8.6
2.3
16.7
10.9
3.4
14.7
7.8
18.1
1.7
12.1
15.4
10.0
38.6
1.4
18.6
1.4
4.3
20.0
59.4
56.2
44.2
54.2
45.9
43.3
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
47.0
Number of deaths....................................
651
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)....................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
190
28
29.2
4.3
18
82
54
64
12
94
109
2.8
12.6
i i .i
8.3
5.6
9.8
1.8
14.4 '2 7 .’ 8*
16.7
27.8
T otal...............................................
651
100.0
100.0
25-34
35-44
45-54
In the age period 15 to 24 less than 3 per cent of the deaths occurred;
consequently this period can be overlooked with impunity. In the age
period 25 to 34 only tuberculosis of the lungs (112.5), pneumonia (150.7)}
and accidental violence (120.0) are of interest. In the age period 35
to 44 tuberculosis of the lungs occupies about the same relative posi
tion as before (116.1) and accidental violence becomes important
(162.6). In the age period 45 to 54 there is a true indication of the
hazards of this occupation. Tuberculosis of the lungs is very high
(174.1)7 the proportionate mortality being 32.2 per cent, as against
18.5 per cent; organic diseases of the heart reflect the laborious char
acter of this occupation (118.9). Pneumonia reveals the effect of
exposure to the elements (119.5), and accidents show a decide.d causal
relation between occupation and mortality (196.5). In the age
period 55 to 64 tuberculosis of the lungs is still very high (140.7).
Cancer is excessively high (169.0). Pneumonia is somewhat above the
average (104.0)* Bright’s disease (136.1) is high, but accidental vio
lence (186.2) is slightly lower than in the previous age period. In
the age period 65 and over tuberculosis of the lungs (148.3), organic
diseases of the heart (189.2), and Bright’s disease (135.8) occupy
relatively high positions.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
45
Tuberculosis of the lungs is distinctly high for this occupation.
For all ages the relative index is 142-4- I*1 the period 15 to 24 the
index is 82.2. For the age periods between 25 and 44 the relative
indices are slightly higher than normal (around 113), but for the last
three age divisions the relative indices are very high; for the first the
index is 174-1, for the next it is 140.7 and for the last it is 148.8.
It is evident that, although tuberculosis is at first rare in the occu
pation, it increases in relative importance with the duration of
service. Cancer is high in the age period 55 to 64 (169.0). For
all ages the index is low (87.8). The data in this study are not suffi
cient to permit the discussion of alcoholism as a cause of death in this
occupation. For all ages the relative index is normal (100.0). It
has already been pointed out that the laborious nature of the work
leads one to infer the presence of a high index for organic diseases of
the heart. In general the figures confirm this assumption. For all
ages the relative index is only slightly above normal (105.0). At
ages 45 to 54 it is high (118.9). In the next age period, 55 to 64, it
is about normal. In the age period 65 and over it is excessively
high (189.2). Pneumonia (115.3) is higher for all ages than in the
general group. Between the ages of 25 and 34 the relative index is
very high (150.7). For the age period 35 to 44 the proportionate
mortality is normal. In the age period 45 to 54 the relative index
is high (119.5), and in the age period 55 to 64 it is slightly above
the average (104-0). Bright’s disease reflects an interesting condi
tion. Between the ages of 25 and 54 the relative indices are all
considerably below the average, ranging around 75. After age 54—
that is, in the age periods 55 to 64, and 65 and over—the relative
indices are high, being 136.1 for the former and 135.8 for the latter.
For all ages Bright’s disease has an only slightly higher relative
index (102.1). Accidental violence is one of the principal causes of
death in this occupation, having a relative index of 154-8 for all
ages. It is very high between the ages of 35 and 64. In the period
35 to 44 it is 162.6. At ages 45 to 54 the highest relative index is
observed, 196.5. The relative index in the age period 55 to 64 re
mains high (186.2).
The general conclusions are confirmed by those of the Registrar
General of England and Wales. Tatham1 finds that “ tubercu
lous phthisis, diseases of the respiratory system, and accident are
inordinately fatal to these workers, and their mortality from cancer,
as well as from diseases of the nervous and circulatory systems and
from Bright’s disease, is in each case above the average.”
1Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar General of Births, Deaths, and Mar
riages in England and Wales, Pt. II. London, 1908. p. xlii.
B ULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
46
MACHINISTS.1
There were 3,152 deaths among machinists. The following table
indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods, and the
corresponding distribution in all occupations:
2 8 .—N U M B ER AND PER CENT OF D EAT H S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG M ACH IN
ISTS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS— W H IT E
MALES.
T a b le
Ages 15
years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
MACHINISTS.
Deaths.......................................................................
3,152
573
565
500
509
516
489
Per cent of deaths...................................................
100.0
18.2
17.9
15.9
16.1
16.4
15. £
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................... .............................
It is evident that the deaths are distributed evenly among the
age periods. The average age at death is 43.9 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 2 9 . — N U M BER
A N D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
M ACH IN ISTS, B Y AG E PER IO D S, 15 Y E A R S AN D O VER —W H IT E M ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
55-64
65
and
over.
509
516
489
0.8
18.9
6.7
0.4
9.7
10.7
2.5
6.3
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
573
565
500
6.8
39.4
.9
3.2
44.8
.7
1.8
30.4
2.8
.9
5.7
6.5
1.1
2.8
3.5
11.2
19.7
2.8
9.2
7.6
3.0
8.0
3.2
10.0
21.2
5.3
13.9
7.3
2.8
8.4
3.3
8.9
23.8
8.3
16.7
8.7
2.5
15.7
1.4
6.3
19.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number of deaths...................................
3,152
Typhoid fever...........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined).......
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes....... ................................
72
789
143
2.3
25.0
4.5
153
350
223
57
269
81
338
677
4.9
.2
3.3
11.1
7.1
5.8
1.8
8.5 “ *i’ 9’
2.6
1.6
10.7
21.8
18.4
21.5
Total................................................
3,152
100.0
100.0
45-54
Aver
age
age at
d.eath.
27.1
33.7
55.1
12.9
59.7
19.6
53.2
6.7
44.9
1.8
50.2
16.0
55.0
2.5
43.8
4.7
34.7
26.9 ...........
100.0
43.9
In the age period 15 to 24 typhoid fever is high (130.8), being
responsible for 6.8 per cent of all deaths, as against 5.2 per cent in
the general group. Tuberculosis (116.6) is likewise higher than for
all occupations. Pneumonia exhibits a slightly higher proportion
ate mortality (107.4). I*1
age period 25 to 34 typhoid fever
remains high (118.5). Tuberculosis of the lungs is only slightly
i This title includes lathe hands, bench hands, die makers, toolmakers, gear cutters and makers, machine
hands and repair men in automobile, car, railroad, machine, and other establishments where iron and
steel are made into a finished product through the use of lathes, planers, and the usual equipment of a
machine shop.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
47
lower than in the previous age period (109.5), and suicide becomes
somewhat prominent (112.9). In the age period 35 to 44 typhoid
fever exhibits a high relative index (128.6). Organic diseases of the
heart are high (119.5). Cirrhosis of the liver has a relative index of
115.4, and that of suicide is 110.3. In the age period 45 to 54 cancer
(113.6), organic diseases of the heart (125.2), and suicide (126.9)
are all high. In the age period 55 to 64 tuberculosis of the lungs
exhibits a high relative index (112.8). Cancer (123.0), pneumonia
(116.0), and Bright’s disease (118.0) are also high. In the last age
period, 65 and over, Bright’s disease is high (116.8), and suicide shows
a very high relative index (250.0).
Typhoid fever is high for all ages (153.3) and for the ages between
15 and 44. In the age period 15 to 24 it is 130.8; in the period 25 to
34 it is 118.5; and in the period 35 to 44 it is 128.6. The remaining
age periods are insignificant. High indices for typhoid fever have
also been obtained in the experience of the Bureau of the Census
and of Hoffman. The United States Census shows a relative index
of 172.0, and Hoffman’s figures show 172.2 for all ages.
The proportionate mortality due to pulmonary tuberculosis is
higher for machinists than for all occupations. At all ages the rela
tive index is 122.0. In the age period 15 to 24 it is 116.6, and in the
period 25 to 34 it is 109.5; in the next age period, 35 to 44, it is lower,
and in the remaining periods the percentages are very nearly alike.
The presence of dust, grime, iron filings, and probably lead dust
explains the high proportionate mortality due to tuberculosis of the
lungs. The figures of both the United States Census and of Hoffman
give high indices for tuberculosis of the lungs. For all ages the rela
tive index of the former is 126.0, and that of the latter is 126.5.
Cancer is high for the age periods between 35 and 64. At ages 35 to 44
the relative index is 121.7; at ages 45 to 54 the index is 113.6; and at
ages 55 to 64 it is 123.0. Organic diseases of the heart are higher than
normal between 25 and 64. For the age period 35 to 44 the index is
significantly higher (119.5) and the same is true of the period 45 to
54 (125.2). Bright’s disease, like cancer and organic diseases of the
heart (the causes of death which are associated with old age) is
high for the later age periods. For the period between 55 and 64
the relative index is 118.0, and for ages 65 and over it is 116.8.
Suicide among machinists exhibits a higher percentage for all ages,
with a relative index of 113.0. This is true in most age periods, the
highest relative index being in th.6 age period 65 and over (250.0).
The variation in the proportionate mortality from suicide among the
different occupations is not great. Consequently any deviation from
the norm is likely to be of significance. The high proportionate mor
tality attributed to suicide among machinists is confirmed by the
even higher indices obtained from the data of the United States
56505°—Bull. 207—17------ 4
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
48
Census and of Hoffman. The census data give an index of j140.7, and
those of Hoffman lead to an index of 127.3. Both also show that
in the last age period, 65 and over, the highest relative index is regis
tered—166.7 in both cases.
M ASONS AND BRICKLAYERS.1
There were 1,748 deaths among masons and bricklayers. The
following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
3 0 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG MASONS
AN D B R IC K LA Y E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—
W H IT E MALES.
T a b le
Age periods (years).
Ages 15
years
and
15-24
over.
Item.
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
MASONS AND BRICKLAYERS.
Deaths......................................................................
1,748
59
124
250
327
475
513
Percent of deaths...................................................
100.0
3.4
7.1
14.3
18.7
27.2
29.3
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Percent of deaths...................................................
A larger proportion of the deaths occurred after age 34—89.5
per cent, as against 74.5 per cent in all occupations. The average
age at death is 55 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
3 1 .—N U M BER AND PER CENT OF DEATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
MASONS AND B R IC S L A T E R S , B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D OVER—W H IT E
MALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
59
124
250
327
475
513
28.8
45.2
1.6
2.4
42.0
2.8
1.6
26.6
4.6
1.8
10.5
10.3
.4
3.3
7.8
.6
44.2
60.6
48.9
2.4
8.0
5.1
1.7
25.4
25.4
.8
6.5
.8
7.3,
.8
3.2
.8
8.1
22.5
2.4
9.2
.6
10.1
1.8
10.1
1.5
9.8
21.5
12.2
14.7
.6
6.7
2.9
12.2
1.9
5.7
21.9
12.3
18.9
2.3
7.2
1.6
12.9
1.9
5.1
26.1
63.8
60.3
66.4
53.9
56.9
59.5
56.8
48.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
55.0
Number of deaths...................................
1,748
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)......................*.............
Alcoholism.................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis...............
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (allforms)............. *....................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes............................... *____
332
113
18
19.0
6.5
1.0
136
227
18
132
34
178
29
133
398
7.8
13.0
1.0
7.6
1.9
10.2
1.7
7.6
22.8
1,748
100.0
Total.......................................... .
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
3.4
"io.Y
25-34
35-44
*6*6’
2.0
5.6
1.2
9.2
19.2
100.0
45-54
55-64
1 This title includes foremen and workmen: stonemasons, bricklayers, masons, bricksetters, tile layers,
and plasterers.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
49
At the age period 15 to 24 high relative indices are observed for both
pneumonia and accidental violence. Pneumonia has a percentage of
10.2, as against 5.4 in all occupations (index, 188.9). The index for
accidental violence is 182.S. In the age period 25 to 34 tuberculosis
of the lungs is high (110.5) and organic diseases of the heart show an
index of 120.4. In the age period 35 to 44 tuberculosis alone is of
interest (127.7). In the age period 45 to 54 tuberculosis of the lungs
becomes of relative importance (148.8). Alcoholism (128.6), pneu
monia (123.2), and accidental violence (115.3) are also high. In the
age period 55 to 64 pulmonary tuberculosis, though lower than in
the previous period, is still high (122.1). The causes of death asso
ciated with old age now become prominent; the index of cancer is
118.4, and that of cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis is
127.1 o In the age period 65 and over many of the causes of death
exhibit high relative indices, and it is to be noted that this age
period is an important one from the point of view of number, in that
it contains more deaths than any other period. Tuberculosis of the
lungs is high (118.8). The respiratory diseases exhibit high indices.
The relative index for acute and chronic bronchitis is 121.1 and for
pneumonia it is 114-3. A very high index is observed for suicide
(190.0); accidental violence (115.9) is slightly higher than in the
general group.
Bertillon,1 in speaking of industrial workers in occupations expos
ing them to wind and weather but involving vigorous exercise, in
which class masons are included, says that an analysis by ages shows
that phthisis is very rare up to the age of 25 and rather rare up to
the age of 35. In the later age periods it is more and more above
the average, and after 55 far exceeds it. So the stock from which
workers in these occupations are drawn is clearly good, but the
work slowly exhausts those who carry it on.
The Metropolitan experience justifies a similar conclusion. At the
age period 15 to 24 the tuberculosis proportion is low (85.2). The
proportionate mortality after age 24 increases steadily up to the age
of 54, the index rising from 110.5 at 25 to 34 to 127.7 at 35 to 44. At
ages 45 to 54 the highest relative index is reached (143.8). In the
last two age periods the indices decline, though they are still high.
At ages 55 to 64 the index is 122.1, and at the period 65 and over it
is 113.8. The United States Census figures, the English figures, and
those of the Prudential Insurance Co., all confirm the occurrence of
rising relative indices in successive periods up to age 65, suggesting
a direct causal relationship between tuberculosis of the lungs as a
cause of death and the duration of service in this occupation.
i Op. cit., p. 364.
50
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Cancer is high for the age periods 55 to 64 and 65 and over.
For the former period the relative index is 118.4, and for the lat
ter it is 106.8. Alcoholism is high in the age period 25 to 34; the
relative index is 171.4•
the period 35 to 44 it is 76.2; and in the
period 45 to 54 it is 128.6. The indices merely indicate a high pro
portionate mortality, for the number of cases involved is few. Pneu
monia is near the average for all ages, the relative index being 105.6,
and varies above and below the normal in the age periods. The in
dex is highest in the period 15 to 24 (188.9) and lowest in the period
35 to 44 (74-1)- Suicide is low for all ages (73.9) and for every age
period except 65 and over, where it is very high (190.0). In the age
period 15 to 24 the relative index is 60.7. After age 24 there is a
steady increase in the proportionate mortality with, the duration of
service. In the age period 25 to 34 the relative index is 25.8; at
ages 35 to 44 it is 41-4; at 45 to 54 it is 57.7; and at 55 to 64 it is 95.0.
It is striking that the figures of the Registrar General of England and
Wales and of the United States Census confirm this phenomenon.
Although the indices for suicide in this occupation are low, yet after
age 24 there is a regular increase in proportionate mortality, until the
highest is reached in the period 65 and over, where for the first time
suicide is above the average. For the age period 15 to 24 the index
is more than twice that for ages 25 to 34. Accidental violence, though
below normal for all ages (81.7) is higher for the age periods 15 to 24,
45 to 54, and 65 and over. It is highest in the age period 15 to 24
(132.3).
PAINTERS, PAPER HANGERS, AND VARNISHERS.*
There were 2,722 deaths among painters, paper hangers, and varnishers. The following table indicates the distribution of these
deaths by age periods, and the corresponding distribution for all
occupations:
3 2 .—NUM BER AND PER CENT OF DEATH S FROM A L L
CAUSES AMONG
PAINTERS, PAPER HANGERS, AN D VAR NISH ERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARI
SON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
PAINTERS, PAPER HANGERS, AND VARNISHERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
2,722
166
368
552
592
592
452
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
6.1
13.5
20.3
21.7
21.7
16.6
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths...................................................
i This title includes painters, paper hangers, and varnishers; house painters, fresco painters, grainers,
decorators, wood varnishers, carriage and auto painters, and interior finishers; sign writers, letterers, and
gilders.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
51
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
3 3 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES
AMONG PAINTERS, PAPER HANGERS, AND VAR N ISH ERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15
Y E A R S AN D OVER —W H IT E MALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Per
Num
ber.
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
166
368
552
592
592
452
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes.....................................................
Alcoholism................................................
Chronic lead poisoning...........................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
596
111
15
30
54
21.9
4.1
.6
1.1
2.0
31.3
.6
1.2
1.2
.6
42.9
.5
.5
1.6
1.1
34.6
1.8
.7
2.5
3.4
19.6
3.9
.5
1.0
2.5
11.3
6.9
.7
.3
1.9
2.7
7.5
208
290
167
70
331
55
238
557
7.6
10.7
6.1
2.6
12.2
2.0
8.7
20.5
.6
4.2
3.6
.6
1.8
5.4
19.3
29.5
.8
4.6
6.2
1.4
4.9
3.0
14.4
17.8
3.3
8.0
5.3
2.4
9.2
2.7
8.8
17.2
5.6
10.6
8.8
5.2
12.5
2.0
6.9
20.7
12.3
12.3
6.1
2.7
18.6
1.2
7.6
18.1
17.7
19.0
4.6
.9
16.6
.2
4.0
25.8
60.0
55.2
49.0
49.1
54.8
40.0
41.7
Total................................................
2,722
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
48.6
Number of deaths.................................... 2,722
.9
39.9
57.7
43,3
39.1
47.7
In the age period 15 to 24 a high relative index is observed for
suicide (192.9). Accidental violence is responsible for 19.3 percent
of all deaths; for all occupations the proportionate mortality is
19.2 per cent (relative index, 100.5). In the age period 25 to 34
alcoholism is above the average (114.3). Chronic lead poisoning is
extremely high (1,100.0). Cirrhosis of the liver is 116.7, Bright’s
disease 108.9, and accidental violence 115.2. In the age period 35 to
44 alcoholism rises to 119.0. Lead poisoning soars still higher
(1,700.0). A high index for cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis (143.5) is noted. Bright’s disease is also of importance
(117.9). In the age period 45 to 54 lead poisoning reaches its maxi
mum relative index (2,500.0). Cirrhosis of the liver remains high
(136.8) and Bright’s disease maintains a relatively high index (112.6).
In the age period 55 to 64 the proportionate mortality from tubercu
losis of the lungs is in excess (131.4). Chronic lead poisoning main
tains its excessively high proportionate mortality, with an index of
1,900.0. Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis (128.1),
Bright’s disease (139.8), and accidental violence (116.9) are all high.
In the last age period, 65 and over, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy,
and paralysis (132.1) and Bright’s disease (121.2) are important.
In most age periods the proportionate mortality due to pulmonary
tuberculosis is but slightly different from that found in all occupa
tions. The relative index is 106.8 for all ages. It is high only for
52
BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
the age period 55 to 64 (131.4). Alcoholism exhibits high relative
indices; for all ages the index is 122.2. Between the ages of 25 and
44 the indices are about 116.
The proportionate mortality from lead poisoning is excessive in
every age division. A distinct causal relation between occupation
and cause of death is apparent. It may also be pointed out in this
connection that painters, paper hangers, and varnishers suffer from
alcoholism.1 Authorities agree that the use of alcohol renders the
organism more sensitive to lead poisoning This fact may in some
degree explain the extremely high proportionate mortality from
plumbism in this occupation. For all ages the relative index is
2,000.0, and in every age period the indices are much above 1,000.
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis also exhibit a high
relative index (122.6), and authorities have pointed out that a rela
tionship exists between lead poisoning and cerebral hemorrhage. A
bulletin of the Bureau of Labor Statistics2 gives the results of an analy
sis of the hospital or dispensary history of 100 poisoned painters; nine
had had brain symptoms. Dr. Thompson3 points out further:
“ Lead produces exceptionally a considerable variety of cerebral
symptoms both acute and chronic. The acute forms especially are
much more liable to affect young subjects.” Our experience shows
that for all ages the relative index for cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy,
and paralysis is 122.6. At the age period 35 to 44 the highest relative
index is exhibited (148.5). After age 55 the index is about 130.
Apparently painters do not suffer seriously from the respiratory
diseases. The relative index for bronchitis is 66.7 for all ages. Pneu
monia is also very low, with an index of 84-7, and that of pleurisy is
66.7.
The usual concomitants of alcoholism are in evidence in this occu
pation. Cirrhosis of the liver is high, the relative index being 113.0
for all ages. Disregarding the age period 15 to 24, the index is high
est in the age period 45 to 54 (136.8). The age period 25 to 34 also
exhibits a high index (116.7). Bright’s disease is significantly high for
painters, paper hangers, and varnishers in all ages combined (127.1).
Between the ages 25 and 64 there is a steady increase in the propor
tionate mortality from this cause. The maximum proportionate
mortality is reached at ages 55 to 64, where the index is 139.8.
Suicide is low for all age divisions with the exception of the period
15 to 24 (192.9). For all ages the relative index is 87.0.
1 Boos, William F. The Relation of Alcohol to Industrial Accidents and to Occupational Diseases.
Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and Demography. Washington, D. C., 1912, p. 835.
2 Hamilton, Alice, M. A ., M. D. U . S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hygiene of the Painters’ Trade.
Bulletin No. 120. Washington, D. C., 1913.
3 Thompson, W . Gilman. The Occupational Diseases. New York, 1914, p. 254.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
53
PLUMBERS, GAS FITTERS, AND STEAM FITTERS.1
There were 1,153 deaths among plumbers, gas fitters, and steam
fitters. The following table indicates the distribution of these deaths
by age periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
3 4 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG PLUM B
ERS, GAS FITTER S, AN D STEAM FITTERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON
W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E MALES.
T a b le
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
25-34
15-24
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
PLUMBERS, GAS FITTERS, AND STEAM FIT
TERS.
Deaths..................................................................
1,153
173
297
291
184
138
70
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
15.0
25.8
25.2
16.0
12.0
6.1
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
It is evident that considerably more than half of the deaths occur
before the age of 45; 51.0 per cent of the deaths occur between the
ages of 25 and 44, as against 29.9 per cent in all occupations. This
is, therefore, a young man’s occupation, and the average age at
death is low, 39.8, as compared with 47.9 for all occupations.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 3 5 . — NUM BER
AND PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
PLUMBERS, GAS F IT T E R S , AN D STEAM F IT TE R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S
A N D O VER — W H IT E MALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Number of deaths...................................
1,153
173
297
291
184
138
70
Typhoid fever...........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes....................................................
Alcoholism................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
16
364
32
15
13
1.4
31.6
2.8
1.3
1.1
5.2
33.5
.6
1.2
1.3
43.8
.7
2.0
2.0
0.3
37.5
1.0
1.0
1.4
0.5
23.4
7.1
1.1
1.1
0.7
15.9
5.1
1.4
.7
2.9
8.6
59
106
75
21
115
20
102
215
5.1
9.2
6.5
1.8
10.0
1.7
8.8
18.6
2.9
6.4
8.1
3.5
2.3
18.5
17.8
2.0
6.4
5.1
1.0
7.7
1.7
9.8
16.5
3.1
6.9
9.3
2.1
10.3
2.7
7.5
16.9
6.5
13.6
5.4
2.7
12.5
1.1
4.8
20.2
12.3
11.6
5.1
3.6
15.9
.7
5.8
21.2
14.3
21.4
2.9
2.9
15.7
Total................................................
1,153
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
2.9
28.4
Aver
age
age at
death.
26.1
35.1
52.3
36.5
37.4
49.9
45.7
38.1
49.3
45.4
34.8
34.1
39.8
1 This title includes pipe fitters, gas fitters, steam fitters, plumbers, plumbing repairers, pipe cutters, and
plumbers' helpers.
54
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOE STATISTICS.
In the age period 15 to 24 it is surprising to note the very presence
of cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis. The percentage is
excessively high, being 2.9 per cent (580.0) as compared to 0.5 per cent
for all occupations. Although the cases are few in number, the
fact that we have any cases at all is significant. Pneumonia (150.0)
and Bright’s disease (lJfi.O) show high indices.
In the age period 25 to 34 deaths from diabetes, though few in miniber, exhibit a very high relative index (285.7). Alcoholism is high,
with an index of 142.9. The index for cerebral hemorrhage, apo
plexy, and paralysis is very high (166.7). Organic diseases of the
heart are higher than in the general group (118.5), and Bright’s
disease is very high (171.1).
In the age period 35 to 44 tuberculosis of the lungs becomes impor
tant (114.0). Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis (134.8),
and Bright’s disease (132.1), as in the previous age periods, still
maintain high indices. Pneumonia is rather high (114.8).
In the age period 45 to 54 tuberculosis of the lungs increases in pro
portionate importance, attaining an index of 126.5, and all the causes
of death associated with old age are of importance. Cancer has an
index of 120.3; cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis show
125.0. The index of organic diseases of the heart is 122.5, and that
of Bright’s disease is 112.6.
In the age period 55 to 64 tuberculosis of the lungs is excessively
high (184.9). Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis (128.1)
and Bright’s disease (119.5), as in the previous periods, are higher
than in all occupations.
In the last period, ages 65 and over, there are no conditions that
were not noted before. Cancer, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis, and Bright’s disease^are all slightly higher than the normal
percentages for these causes of death.
Tuberculosis of the lungs exhibits an interesting phenomenon
which we have already encountered. In the first age period the
proportionate mortality is 33.5 per cent, as against 33.8 per cent in
all occupations; the relative index is 99.1, or about normal. In the
succeeding age periods and up to the age of 65 tuberculosis of the
lungs increases steadily in relative importance; it attains a maximum
excess percentage between ages 55 and 64, with a relative index of
184.9. We may infer that the individual, when entering the occu
pation of plumber, gas fitter, or steam fitter, is of average resistance
to tuberculosis, and that, as the duration of service increases, his
hazard from tuberculosis increases.
In the three years’ experience of the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Co. there was only one case of lead poisoning recorded among plumb
ers, gas fitters, and steam fitters. This may be accounted for by the
changes that this occupation has undergone. Plumbers to-day use
much less lead in their trade than formerly. On the other hand, it
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
55
is to be noted that, in this occupation, cerebral hemorrhage, apo
plexy, and paralysis manifest themselves in the highest relative pro
portions in the early age periods. Neglecting ages 15 to 24, where the
relative index is excessively high, but where there are only a few cases,
it is observed that the relative index is highest in the age period 25 to
34 (166.7). After age 34 there is a steady decrease in the excessive
relative mortality, until in the last age period, 65 and over, the
proportionate mortality from this cause becomes almost normal, the
relative index being 106.7. Evidently an abnormal condition obtains
in the early age divisions, becoming normal in the last age period.
It is hard to explain the high indices for cerebral hemorrhage, apo
plexy, and paralysis, unless they may be attributed to the effect of
lead poisoning. Especially is it difficult to explain why cerebral
hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis are so prevalent in the early age
divisions. Dr. Robert Jones,1 concluded from an examination of 133
individuals in the Claybury Essex Asylum who had been lead workers,
that there is strong presumptive evidence that lead may be a factor
in the causation of general paralysis. Osier2 also found, in a number
of cases, marked cerebral involvements; he notes that the cerebral
symptoms of plumbism are numerous. Dr. Simeon Snell,3 says:
“ The brain and nervous system are frequently seriously affected in
chronic plumbism, and kidney disease is also frequently occasioned
thereby. ” The proportionate mortality from Bright’s disease is high
est between the ages of 15 and 44. In the age period 25 to 34 the rela
tive index is 171.1. The following age periods all show decreases.
At ages 65 and over the index is 114-6. It is to be noted that, as in
the case of cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis, Bright’s dis
ease also exhibits a high proportionate mortality in the early age
periods, when these causes of death are usually infrequent. The con
clusion is strongly suggested that the high proportion of cerebral hem
orrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis and Bright’s disease are all causally
related to plumbism, although lead poisoning itself is of no signifi
cance as a cause of death. The experience of the Registrar General
of England and Wales shows a high fatality among plumbers, painters,
and glaziers from plumbism and Bright’s disease. Bertillon4 also
finds Bright’s disease very common in all occupations exposing workers
to lead poisoning.
RAILWAY TRACK AND YARD W ORKERS. 5
There were 1,932 deaths among railway track and yard workers.
The table following indicates the distribution of the deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations.
1 Jones, Dr. Robert. In Oliver, Thomas: Dangerous Trades., London, 1902, p. 308.
2 Osier, William, M. D. Practice of Medicine. New York, 1911, p. 378.
3 Snell, Simeon. In Oliver, Thomas: Dangerous Trades, London, 1902, p. 771.
* Op. cit., p. 354.
6 This title Includes section laborers, switchmen, trackwalkers, roundhouse workers, car cleaners, air
brake inspectors and repairers, crossing watchmen and flagmen, car sealers, and track repairers and graders.
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
56
3 6 .—N UM BER AND PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG R A IL W A Y
T R A C K AN D Y A R D W ORK ER S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCU
PATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
RAILWAY TRACK AND YARD WORKERS.
Deaths......................................................................
1,932
177
243
232
334
475
471
Per cent of deaths ................................................
100.0
9.2
12.6
12.0
17.3
24.6
24.4
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cenfr of deaths..................................................
By far the greater number of deaths occur in the later age periods;
66.3 per cent of all deaths occur after age 44, as against 58.3 per cent
for all occupations. The average age at death is 50.7 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
3 7 .— NUM BER AND PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
R A IL W A Y T R A C K AN D Y A R D W O R K E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O V E R W H IT E MALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
Number of deaths.................................... 1,932
Aver
age
age at
death.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
177
243
232
334
475
471
6.2
4.1
.8
27.2
1.2
1.3
.4
21.1
2.6
1.2
2.1
10.2
4.5
0.2
1.5
5.1
8.4
1.3
1.9
5.5
31.2
55.8
38.5
59.0
1.6
3.7
1.7
6.0
6.5
1.7
6.0
2.2
32.3
18.2
5.1
9.9
.9
6.0
3.9,,
10.8
2.4
19.5
23.7
10.1
13.7
1.7
7.4
2.1
11.4
.6
13.0
24.8
13.8
22.5
2.8
7.4
1.7
10.8
.4
8.3
23.5
61.7
60.1
60.9
53.9
54.1
57.6
43.3
41.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
50.7
Typhoid fever...........................................
Influenza....................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of tne liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
29
23
215
90
1.5
1.2
11.1
4.7
139
231
26
123
37
163
26
402
428
7.2
12.0
1.3
6.4
1.9
8.4
1.3
20.8
22.2
........
1.7
43.5
22.1
4.9
.8
2.9
2.1
34.6
16.0
Total................................................
1,932
100.0
100.0
100.0
i8 .6
.6
2.3
1.1
3.4
100.0
In the age period 15 to 24 tuberculosis of the lungs has a propor
tionate mortality of only 18.6 per cent, as compared with 33.8 per
cent for all occupations; the relative index (55.0) is therefore low.
The only other important cause of death in this period is accidental
violence, the index of which is very high (226.6). If the excess of
deaths from accidents were deducted and the various other causes in
this age period increased proportionately, the proportion of tubercu
losis would rise to about normal. It may be safely concluded, there
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
57
fore, that railway track and yard workers do not exhibit any note
worthy freedom from tuberculosis of the lungs. At the age period
25 to 34 typhoid fever is very high (151.9). Tuberculosis of the lungs
is low (66-5) and accidental violence is, as in the previous age period,
high (276.8). In the age period 35 to 44 the same conditions are
observed. Tuberculosis of the lungs remains low (64.1) and acci
dental violence maintains its high relative index (326.3). The same
thing can be said for the age period 45 to 54, with the addition that
influenza is of importance, having the very high index of 300.0. In
the age period 55 to 64 influenza maintains a high relative index
(150.0) and accidental violence is still high' (200.0). In the last age
period, 65 and over, organic diseases of the heart are somewhat in
excess (110.3). Bronchitis (147.4) is high, and accidental violence
(188.6), although lower than in the previous age period, is still high.
The most significant facts in the mortality of this occupation are
that tuberculosis of the lungs is consistently low, and accidental
violence consistently very high. The indices for organic diseases
of the heart are low throughout all the age periods, with the excep
tion of ages 65 and over. From the age period 15 to 24, where the
relative index is 39.7, to the age period 65 and over, where the rela
tive index is 110.3, there is a steady increase. For all ages the rela
tive index of accidental violence is 223.7. It is highest at ages 35 to 44
(326.3). The percentages of deaths attributed to accidents decrease
steadily with every age period, from 43.5 per cent in the age period
15 to 24, to 34.6 per cent, 32.3 per cent, 19.5 per cent, 13.0 per cent,
and in the last age period, 8.3 per cent. Accidental violence decreases
in proportionate representation as the men grow older and more
experienced.
SALOON KEEPERS AND BARTENDERS, i
There were 2,190 deaths among saloon keepers and bartenders.
The following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
T a b l e 3 8 . — NUM BER
AND PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG SALOON
KEEPERS AND BARTENDERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCU
PATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
Item.'
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
SALOON KEEPERS AND BARTENDERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
2,190
57
492
775
535
243
88
Per cent of deaths...................................................
100.0
2.6
22.5
35.4
24.4
11.1
4.0
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths...................................................
1 This title includes bartenders and proprietors of caf<5s, saloons, and liquor stores.
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
58
There is a great preponderance of deaths in the middle periods
of life. Between the ages of 25 and 54, 82.3 per oent of all deaths
occur among saloon keepers and bartenders, as against 47.6 per
cent in all occupations— almost twice as many. The average age
at death is 42.6 years.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
3 9 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
SALOON K EEPER S AN D B A R T E N D E R S , B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O V E R W H IT E MALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
57
493
775
535
243
88
570
60
25
75
26.0
2.7
1.1
3.4
45.6
31.2
2.1
.9
4.5
15.3
3.9
1.3
2.2
9.9
7.8
3.3
1.2
3.4
3.4
1.1
37.5
3.5
39.2
.2
.4
4.7
94
181
191
165
267
60
72
430
4.3
8.3
7.0
8.7
5.3
7.5
12.2 *'*3.5
3.5
2.7
5.3
8.3
26.3
19.6
1.6
6.9
8.7
4.5
6.3
3.9
4.0
19.5
3.1
8.3
9.0
8.3
10.7
2.3
2.1
17.4
5.8
6.7
10.8
10.7
17.4
1.9
3.5
20.4
7.8
13.2
5.8
6.6
18.1
3.7
3.3
19.3
13.6
12.5
3.4
6.8
15.9
2.3
6.8
30.6
49.7
44.7
41.7
44.4
46.8
41.2
42.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
42.6
Number of deaths.................................... 2,190
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes.....................................................
Alcoholism.................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic disease^ of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)----Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
65.
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
Total........................: ...................... 2,190
100.0
100.0
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
SO. 7
48.7
38.8
In the age period 15 to 24, because of paucity of data, there is
only one cause of death which shows important variation from the
average. Tuberculosis of the lungs is responsible for 45.6 per cent
of all deaths, as against 33.8 per cent in all occupations. The rela
tive index is high (184-9). In the age period 25 to 34 alcoholism is
very high (385.7); the same is true of cerebral.hemorrhage, apoplexy,
and paralysis (133.8), cirrhosis of the liver (375.0), Bright’s disease
(140.0), and suicide (125.8). It may also be noted that organic
diseases of the heart exhibit a high index (127.8) and pneumonia is
above the average (119.2). In the age period 35 to 44, as in the
previous age period, alcoholism, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis, cirrhosis of the liver, and Bright’s disease are all high. As
before, organic diseases of the heart and pneumonia are above the
averageo At ages 45 to 54 high indices are again observed for alco
holism and the usual accompanying causes. In this period the
relative index of pneumonia increases to 181.7, In the age period
55 to 64 tuberculosis of the lungs is seen to be on the ascendent, with
an index of 115.1; diabetes is very high (253.8). Alcoholism,
Bright’s disease, and suicide are very high for this period alsOo In
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
59
the last age period, 65 and over, tuberculosis of the lungs maintains
its high index (117.2). Cirrhosis of the liver (377.8) exhibits a very
high relative index. Bright's disease is somewhat above normal
( H 6 J).
Tuberculosis of the lungs is low in the main working periods of life,
between 25 and 54, and is higher for the remaining age periods. It
is interesting to observe that, unlike the members of all other occu
pations, saloon keepers and bartenders exhibit their highest pro
portionate mortality from pulmonary tuberculosis in the first age
period, 15 to 24, when 45.6 per cent of the total deaths are accounted
for, as compared with 33.8 per cent (index, 134-9). Between 25 and
54, when alcoholism is at its highest, tuberculosis of the lungs is
below the average. Alcoholism claims its greatest number of deaths
in the age group 35 to 44, being responsible for a total of 35 deaths,
and for a proportionate mortality of 4.5 per cent, as compared with
2.1 per cent (index, 214-3). The highest significant relative index
is observed in the age period 25 to 34 (335.7). For all ages the rela
tive index is 377.8. The Registrar General, Bertillon, and Hoffman
all confirm the findings of the Metropolitan experience. For all ages
the returns of the Registrar General of England and Wales give an
index of 416*7, and Hoffman’s figures for bartenders give an index
of 446.7.
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis are highest in the age
periods 35 to 44 and 45 to 54, where the greatest number of deaths"
in this occupation occurs. In the former age period, the index is
134.8 and in the latter it is 111.5. Bertillon puts saloon keepers and
bartenders first in order of uoccupations most subject to this dis
ease.” Organic diseases of the heart are higher for the age periods
between 25 and 44. For the period 25 to 34 the relative index is
127.8 and for 35 to 44 it is 107.8. Pneumonia increases in propor
tionate representation from ages 15 to 54, and the indices for the
periods between these ages are also high. At age period 45 to 54 the
index is 131.7. After age 54 the indices, as also the percentages,
decline in numerical importance. The United States Census Bureau
figures show high indices between the ages of 15 and 44.
Cirrhosis of the liver is very high in all age periods; in most cases
the indices are well over 300. The percentage increases from 4.5 per
cent, in the age period 25 to 34, to 10.7 per cent, in the age period
45 to 54. In the age period 55 to 64 the percentage decreases to 6.6,
and is about the same in the succeeding age period. The Registrar
GeneraPs figures show high indices for diseases of the liver. From
Hoffman’s figures a relative index of 196.6 is obtained for bartenders
and 382.8 for saloon keepers. Bertillon observes that diseases of the
liver are very common among members of occupations exposed to
spirituous liquors.
60
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Bright’s disease shows a steady increase in proportionate repre
sentation, from 3.5 per cent, in the age period 15 to 24, tp 18.1 per
cent, in the age period 55 to 64. It is slightly lower in the last age
period. A relationship is evident between advancing age and the
incidence from this cause of death. The relative indices are high
throughout, especially up to age 64. The highest index (156.8) is
observed in the age period 45 to 54. The data both of the United
States Census and of the Registrar General give high indices for
Bright’s disease. The former gives an inde?: of 124*1; from the latter
is obtained an index of 166.7. Bertillon confirms our finding that
Bright’s disease is very common among saloon keepers and bar
tenders. Suicide reveals high indices for the age periods between
15 and 34 and after 55• At 25 to 34 the highest proportionate repre
sentation is noted. In this age period 3.9 per cent of the total deaths
are accounted for by suicide; a high index (125.8) is observed.
For all ages the relative index is 117.4* Bertillon likewise concludes
in his paper that suicide is most frequent in those occupations in
which distilled liquors are indulged in.
TEAMSTERS, DRIVERS, AND CHAUFFEURS.1
There were 6,471 deaths among teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs.
The following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
4 0 .—NU M BER A N D PER CENT OF D EAT H S FROM A L L CAUSES AM ONG TEAM
STERS, DRIVERS, A N D CH AUFFEUR S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H
A L L OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Age periods (year?).
Item.
Ages 15
years
and
over.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
TEAMSTERS, DRIVERS, AND CHAUFFEURS.
Deaths.......................................................................
6,471
768
1,498
1,579
1,152
818
656
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
11.9
23.1
24.4
17.8
12.6
10.1
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths.................................................
Most of the deaths occur between the ages of 25 and 54. Fully
65.3 per cent of the total, deaths occur within these ages; for all
occupations the same period shows only 47.6 per cent. The average
age at death is 42.2 years.
The table following analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death.
i This title includes mail, express, moving van, truck, warehouse, cab, hack, and retail-store teamsters
and drivers; and taxi and private family automobile chauffeurs.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
61
T a b le 4 1 * —NU M BER A N D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
TE A M STE R S, D R IV E R S, A N D
OVER —WHI^TE M ALES.
C H AU FF EU R S,
BY
AGE PERIODS, IS Y E A R S A N D
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num Per
ber.
cent.
Number of deaths...................................
6*471
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
Aver
age
age at
death.
768
1,498
1,579
1,152
818
656
Tuberculosis of the lungs....................... 1,825
234
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Alcoholism................................................
101
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis........................................4____
276
628
Organic diseases of the heart.. .........
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
550
Cirrhosis of tne liver.................*............
133
Bright’s disease........................................
550
Suicide (all forms)...................................
132
Accidental violence.................................
665
All other causes........................................ 1,377
28.2
3 .6
1.6
36.6
.5
.7
42.7
.7
2.4
35.7
2.2
2.5
20.2
5.9
1.0
10.0
8.2
.9
4.0
7.6
.2
35.5
54.1
37.4
4.3
9.7
8.5
2.1
8.5
2.0
10.3
21.3
.3
6.8
7.3
.4
2.6
3.3
17.1
24.6
1.4
5.9
10.5
1.3
4.6
2.6
9.8
18.1
2.0
7.3
8.6
2.3
7,9
1.9
10.4
19.2
4.4
9.9
9.5
4.0
11.6
2.4
10.7
20.2
9.4
15.9
6.8
2.3
11.7
.9
7.8
25.9
14.2
19.4
5.5
1.2
16.3
.5
5.5
26.0
56.3
48.8
40.8
45.5
49.5
36.6
38.5
Total................................................
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
42.2
6,471
In the age period 15 to 24 tuberculosis is slightly above the average
(108.3). Alcoholism causes 0.7 per cent of the total deaths in this
age period, as against 0.2 per cent in all occupations. Though the
number of oases involved is few, the index (350.0) suggests a high
mortality from this cause. Organic diseases of the heart are high
(117.2). Pneumonia (135.2) and suicide (117.9) also have high
indices. In the age period 25 to 34 alcoholis/n is very high (171.4);
together with this cause we find high indices for cerebral hemorrhage,
apoplexy, and paralysis (116.7) and cirrhosis of the liver (108.3).
The index for pneumonia increases to 143.8. In the age period 35
to 44 alcoholism falls considerably below the high figure quoted for
the previous age period, but is still above the normal (119.0). Acci
dental violence now becomes significant ; in the preceding age periods
this cause of death was below the average. However, in this age
period, 35 to 44, the relative index rises to 105.1. In the age period
45 to 54 a high index is observed for pneumonia (115.9). Accidental
violence rises still higher (125.9). In the age period 55 to 64 tuber
culosis of the lungs, though decreasing in proportionate representa
tion, has a higher relative index than is found in all occupations
(116.3). Alcoholism (150.0) and accidental violence (120.0) both
exhibit high indices. In the age period 65 and over tuberculosis of
the lungs decreases still more in proportionate representation, but
increases in its relative index (137.9). Bright’s disease (119.0) is
also high, and accidental violence maintains the high index of the
previous age periods (125.0).
The relative indices for tuberculosis of the lungs in this occupa
tion are not significantly above the normal. Between the ages of 15
62
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
and 54 they are slightly higher than those of the general group. In
the two succeeding age periods the indices rise, and in the last divi
sion/65 and over, the index is highest (137.9). For all ages it is 137.6.
Alcoholism exhibits very high indices in most age periods. For all
ages the relative index is 177.8. At ages 25 to 34 it is 171.4. Organic
diseases of the heart are higher than the normal only for the age periods
15 to 24 (117.2) and 25 to 34 (109.3). Pneumonia is higher for the age
periods between 15 and 54. At the age period 25 to 34 the greatest
percentage, 10.5 per cent as against 7.3 per cent, and the highest
relative index (14-3.8) are observed. The Registrar General also
finds very high indices for pneumonia in this occupation (i. e.,
among carmen, carriers, etc.). For all ages his figures give an
index of 136.3; for the age period 25 to 34 it is 138.1. Suicide is
high for the age period 15 to 24 (117.9) and is low for all other age
periods. For all ages the relative index is 87.0. As may be ex
pected from the character of this occupation, accidental violence
exhibits high indices for most age periods, and particularly after age
34. For the age period 35 to 44 the relative index is 105.1; in the
succeeding period, 45 to 54, it rises to 125.9; at ages 55 to 64 it de
clines to 120.0; and in the last age period, 65 and over, it again
rises to 125.0. The English statistics show even higher indices for
accidental violence in this occupation. For all ages the relative
index is 193.1. After age 24 the indices are well over 160; the maxi
mum index is reached in the age period 65 and over (221.7). With
advancing age, as muscular strength and activity decrease, accidents
evidently rise above the average in frequency.
TEXTILE-MILL WORKERS, i
There were 2,390 deaths among textile-mill workers. The follow
ing table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods,
and the corresponding distribution in all occupations:
4 2 — NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AM ONG T E X T IL E MILL W O R K ER S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L OCCUPATIONS—
W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
TEXTILE-MILL WORKERS.
Deaths......................................................................
2,390
383
282
310
399
495
521
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
16.0
11.8
13.0
16.7
20.7
21.8
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
ALL OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
} This title includes operatives in cotton, silk, wool, and linen mills (card-room workers, spinners, weavers,
pickers, bailers, beamers, breaker hands, combers, creelers, doffers, quillers, reelers, shearers, spoolers, warp
ers, winders, knitters, darners, lacers, loopers, ribbers, seamers, clippers, passementerie workers, flax dress
ers, stretchers, throwsters, burlers, nappers, and skeiners) and all operatives in carpet, sail, awning, tent,
thread, mat, veil, sack, shoddy, and other minor textile industries.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
63
No marked differences from the standard table are observed, except
perhaps that, in the age period 15 to 24, 16.0 per cent of all deaths
occur, as against 11.8 per cent in all occupations. The average age
at death is very nearly the same as for all occupations combined,
being 47.6 .years, as against 47.9..
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
4 3 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
T E X T IL E -M IL L W O R K E R S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S AN D O VER —W H IT E M ALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
383
282
310
399
495
521
6.8
.5
36.8
.8
.8
5.3
1.1
47.5
.4
.4
.7
1.3
.6
37.7
1.3
1.3
2.6
1.5
1.0
18.0
4.8
1.5
1.8
0.8
1.2
8.9
7.1
2.0
.2
1.0
3.3
7.1
1.0
.2
1.0
5.5
9.0
2.6
7.1
1.0
10.7
18.3
5.8
10.3
6.3
2.5
12.5
3.5
7.5
23.0
9.9
17.0
5.7
2.4
100.0
100.0
Number of deaths...................................
2,390
Typhoid fever..........................................
Influenza....................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes.....................................................
Alcoholism................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.......................... ......................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver................................
Bright’s disease........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
55
22
525
99
29
19
2.3
.9
22.0
4.1
1.2
.8
146
290
142
42
208
43
184
586
6.1
12.1
5.9
1.8
8.7
1.8
7.7
24.5
" z .i
2.3
11.8
28.7
.4
5.7
4.3
1.8
2.5
1.4
8.2
20.6
Total................................................
2,390
100.0
100.0
100.0
3.9
4.4
Aver
age
age at
death.
29.4
51.4
35.4
59.0
51.1
45.1
1.4
5.4
25.9
13.4
22.5
*6.1
1.3
10.9
1.2
5.0
27.1
62.5
57.7
49.0
52.0
54.4
45.4
40.3
lCO.O
100.0
47.6
12.1
In the age period 15 to 24 typhoid fever exhibits a high relative
index (130.8). Bright’s disease (124.0) is above the average. In the
age period 25 to 34 the index of typhoid fever increases to 196.3 and
that of influenza to 220.0. Tuberculosis of the lungs shows a rela
tive index slightly higher than that of all occupations (116.1).
Cirrhosis of the liver also exhibits a high index (150.0). In the age
period 35 to 44 tuberculosis of the lungs maintains about the same
relative index (114-6). Alcoholism rises above the average to 123.8,
and pneumonia is somewhat above it with an index of 111.1. In the
age period 45 to 54 typhoid fever is again in excess (187.5). Dia
betes, though causing only 1.5 per cent of the total deaths, has the
high relative index of 150.0, suggesting that this cause of death may
be significant among textile-mill workers. In the same age period
alcoholism (128.6) and the usual accompanying causes—cerebral
hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis (111.5), Bright’s disease (112.6),
and suicide (134-6)— are above the average. In the age period 55
to 64 typhoid fever exhibits a still higher relative index (200.0).
56505°—Bull. 207—17------5
64
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
A high relative index is again observed for influenza {120.0). Dia
betes is even higher than in the previous age period (158.8). In the
age period 65 and over tuberculosis of the lungs exhibits an index
somewhat higher than normal (118.8), and organic diseases of the
heart (110.8) are slightly higher.
In most age periods typhoid fever exhibits high indices. For all
ages the relative index is 158.8. The highest proportionate mortal
ity is observed in the age period 15 to 24, where typhoid fever causes
6.8 per cent of the total deaths as against 5.2 per cent. As the age
increases the proportionate mortality decreases until, in the last age
period entering into consideration, ages 55 to 64, the proportionate
mortality is only 0.8 per cent of the total deaths. The relative
indices, however, vary from age period to age period, and the highest
indices are observed in the periods 25 to 34 (196.3) and 55 to 64
(200.0). In the Metropolitan experience tuberculosis of the lungs
does not play a very important part among textile-mill workers,
although for all ages the relative index is slightly higher than normal
(107.3), and for the age periods 25 to 34, 35 to 44, and 65 and over
the indices are about 15 points higher than the average. Diabetes,
though credited with only few deaths in this occupation, exhibits
high indices for most age periods. For all ages the relative index is
120.0; for the age period 35 to 44 the highest index is observed
(185.7). Too much importance must not be attached to these
indices, as the cases involved are too few. However, we may take
these figures as indications that diabetes is above the average in this
occupation. As may be expected from the nature of the work,
alcoholism is not an important factor. However, we note that the
index is high in the age periods 35 to 44 (123.8) and 45 to 54 (128.6).
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis exhibit only one im
portant variation from the figures for all occupations; in the age
period 45 to 54 the index is 111.5. Organic diseases of the heart do
not exhibit any significant relative indices. In the age period 65 and
over the index is 110.3. Suicide is below normal in most age periods;
for all ages it is 78.3. As may be expected, violence is low for all
ages and for most age periods.
65
CAUSES OP DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH, BY OCCUPATION.
The following is a recapitulation, in ascending order, of the average
age at death, in the various occupations, as well as in all occupations
c o m b in e d :
Average age
at death.
Bookkeepers and office assistants....................................................... ...36. 5
Enginemen and trainmen (railway).................................................. ...37.4
Plumbers, gas fitters, and steam fitters............................................ ...39.8
Compositors and printers........................................................................40. 2
Teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs.................................................... ...42. 2
Saloon keepers and bartenders..............................................................42. 6
Machinists................................................................................................43. 9
Longshoremen and stevedores...............................................................47. 0
Textile-mill workers...............................................................................47. 6
Iron molders......................................................................................... ...48.0
Painters, paper hangers, and varnishers........................................... ...48. 6
Cigar makers and tobacco workers..................................................... .. 49.5
Bakers................................................................................................... ...50. 6
Railway track and yard workers.......................................................... 50. 7
Coal miners............................................................................................. 51. 3
Laborers................................................................................................ .. 52.8
Masons and bricklayers....................................................................... .. 55. 0
Blacksmiths............................................................................................ 55.4
Farmers and farm laborers.................................................................. .. 58. 5
All occupations.........................................................................
47.9
It may be pointed out once more that the occupations having a low
age at death are, in general, either composed of large proportions of
young men or characterized by special occupational hazards inducing
an early death. On the other hand, occupations having a high average
age at death must not necessarily be supposed to exhibit freedom
from injurious influences. This condition may rather result from the
high average age of the living.
II. FEMALES.
DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS, BY OCCUPATION.
In addition to the material on males, there is available a series of
tabulations of the causes of death of occupied white females, at ages
15 and over, which will now be considered. There were, in all, 105,281
deaths of white females at these ages in the three years 1911, 1912,
and 1913. Of this number, the occupation of 2,814 was not stated;
it has therefore seemed preferable to eliminate them from our con
sideration, and to limit the study to the remainder, i. e., 102,467.
The following table indicates the actual and proportionate dis
tribution of females in the various occupations:
T a b le
4 4 .—OCCUPATIONS OF W H IT E FEM ALE D ECED EN TS, AGES 15 Y E A R S AND O VE R .
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Occupation.
Number of
deaths.
Per cent
of total.
Housewives and housekeepers..................................................................
.................
Domestic servants.................................................................................................................
Dressmakers and garment workers........................................................
Textile-mill workers.............................................................................................................
Bookkeepers and office assistants......................................................................................
Store clerks and saleswomen...............................................................................................
Other specified occupations................................................................................................
88,151
4,235
2,172
1,742
1-, 235
794
4,138
86.0
4.1
2.1
1.7
1.2
.8
4.0
All specified occupations..........................................................................................
102,467
100.0
It is evident that there is not the same diversity of occupation
among the females as was observed among the males, where the
group “ all occupations7’ was the composite of a large number of
types giving a fair average. Hence the same interest is not attached to
the findings for white females as for those of the other sex. Eighty-six
per cent of the decedents in all specified occupations were housewives
and housekeepers. As a result the entire discussion of white females
with reference to occupation and cause of death will largely be colored
by the conditions among the housewives and housekeepers. Particu
larly in the later age divisions, will it be found that this class is practi
cally coterminous with the entire body of the female deceased, so that
t'here would be little or no value in a juxtaposition of the two. The
comparison between any occupation and the standard—that is, all
specified occupations—is therefore subject to considerable reserva
tion; at any rate, such a comparison must be made with a clear
understanding of this fact.
68
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Next to housewives and housekeepers, the largest occupational
group among females is that of domestic servants, constituting 4.1
per cent of all specified occupations; however, the members of this
class can not be considered markedly different from housewives and
housekeepers in the nature of their work. Dressmakers and garment
workers (2.1 per cent), textile-mill workers (1.7 per cent), bookkeep
ers and office assistants (1.2 per cent), and store clerks and sales
women (0.8 per cent) follow in the order named.
MORTALITY OF ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS COMBINED.
There were 102,467 deaths in all specified occupations. Table 45
indicates the distribution of the deaths by age periods, and the corre
sponding distribution among males.
It is clear that there is an increasing number of deaths in each
successive age period. This condition was also found among the
white males, although in the last age period, “ 65 and over,” where
the iargest percentage of the total mortality is found among females,
the proportion among males was the same as in the previous age
T a b le
4 6 .—NU M BER AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES IN A L L
f Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial
Age periods (years).
Ages 15 years and
over.
Line
No.
Cause of death.
Number.
Per
cent.
15-24
Number.
Per
cent.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Typhoid fever....................................................................
Influenza.............................................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs................................................
Cancer (all forms).............................................................
Acute articular rheumatism...........................................
Chronic rheumatism and gout.......................................
Diabetes..............................................................................
Alcoholism..........................................................................
Chronic lead poisoning....................................................
Other occupational and chronic poisonings...............
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis.........
Organic diseases of the heart.........................................
Acute and chronic bronchitis.........................................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)...............................
Pleurisy..............................................................................
Cirrhosis of the liver.........................................................
Bright’s disease.................................................................
Puerperal state..................................................................
Suicide (all forms)............................................................
Accidental violence......................................................
All other causes.................................................................
1,187
1,207
14, 782
10,098
467
172
1,887
192
3
33
8,552
15,183
1,332
6,034
262
1,343
9,889
3,845
750
2,887
22,362
1.2
1.2
14.4
9.9
.5
.2
1. 8
.2
(!)
O)
8.4
14.8
1.3
5.9
.3
1.3
9. 7
3.8
.7
2.8
21.8
497
57
4,167
73
99
5
83
4
4. 8
.6
40. 4
.7
1. 0
0)
.8
0)
2
47
714
23
360
36
9
288
1,181
200
363
2,094
0)
22
All causes.................................................................
102,467
100.v)
10,302
i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
.5
6.9
.2
3. 4
.3
l
2. 8
11. 5
1. 9
3.5
20.3
.
100.0
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
69
period. A larger proportion of women attain the upper age classes.
The average age at death is 51.1 years among women, as opposed to
47.9 years among men.
4 5 __ NUMBER AND PER CENT OF D EAT H S FROM A LL CAUSES AMONG W H IT E
FEM ALES B Y AGE PERIODS, IN A L L SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS, IN COMPARISON
W IT H MALES.
T a b le
Ages
15 years
and
over.
15-24
Item.
Age periods (years).
65 and
over.
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
102,467 10,302
12,379
13,388
15,814
21,524
29,060
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
100.0
11.8
13.7
16.2
17.7
20.3
20.3
FEMALES.
Deaths.....................................
Per cent of deaths.................
MALES.
Per cent of deaths.................
Table 46 analyzes the mortality of each age class, by cause of
death:
SPECIFIED O CCUPATIONS, B Y AGE PER IOD S, 15 Y E A R S AN D O V E R -W H I T E FEM ALES,
department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
/
Age periods (years).
35-44
25-34
Number.
Per
cent.
280
63
4,558
341
71
9
74
48
2
7
145
861
38
503
30
81
574
1,736
176
289
2,493
2.3
.5
36.8
2.8
.6
.1
.6
.4
0)
.1
1.2
7.0
.3
4.1
.2
.7
4.6
14.0
1.4
2.3
20.1
12,379
100.0
55-64
65 and over.
Per
cent.
Number.
Per
cent.
Number.
Per
cent.
Number.
Per
cent.
1.4
185
94
.7
3,028
22.6
1,392
10.4
59
.4
10
.1
114
.9
78
.6
1
9
(,?i
441
3.3
1,344
10.0
46
.3
705
5.3
41
.3
261
1.9
1,156 ! 8.6
6.7
901
158
1.2
272
2.0
3,093
23.1
121
179
1,531
2,620
62
23
325
37
0.8
1.1
9.7
16.6
.4
.1
2.1
.2
64
278
949
3,044
88
37
717
18
0.3
1.3
4.4
14.1
.4
.2
3.3
.1
40
536
549
2,628
88
88
574
7
0.1
1.8
1.9
9.0
.3
.3
2.0
O)
8
1,322
2,196
95
950
50
367
1,880
27
107
423
3,491
.1
8.4
13.9
.6
6.0
.3
2.3
11.9
.2
.7
2.7
22.1
3
2,507
4,022
308
1,520
46
327
2,636
(x)
11.6
18.7
1.4
7.1
.2
1.5
12.2
4
4,090
6,046
822
1,996
59
298
3,355
0)
14.1
20.8
2.8
6.9
.2
1.0
11.5
70
563
4,327
.3
2.6
20.1
39
977
6,864
.1
3.4
23.6
15,814
100.0
21,524
100.0
29,060
100.0
Number.
45-54
13,388
100.0
Aver
age
age at
death.
Line
No.
31.6
58.4
34.1
55.8
44.4
60.3
56.9
41.8
34.0
44.3
62.0
57.4
64.4
54.6
47.9
53.3
56.3
29.0
36.7
50.5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
51.1
22
70
BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The chief cause is seen to consist in the organic diseases of the
heart. These are responsible for 14. 8 per cent of all deaths. At
no time negligible, the proportion increases constantly in impor
tance with advancing years. At every age period it is higher among
females than among males. The second place is occupied by tubercu
losis; here, however, the proportionate mortality is lower for females
at every age period except 15 to 24. Cancer (all forms) accounts
for 9.9 per cent of the deaths— a figure almost twice as high as that
of the men. Bright’s disease causes 9.7 per cent of the mortality—
a proportion about equal to that of the males. Cerebral hemorrhage,,
apoplexy, and paralysis come fifth, with a percentage of 8.4; here
the percentage is higher for women, the relative index for all ages,
in comparison with males, being 135.5. Pneumonia is low, with a
percentage of 5.9. The puerperal state accounts for 3.8 per cent
of the total mortality. Cirrhosis of the liver is low (1.3 per cent, as
opposed to 2.3 per cent among males) and the same is true of alco
holism. Suicide plays a very minor part, accounting for only 0.7
per cent, as opposed to 2.3 per cent among males. Similarly, acci
dents are responsible for only 2.8 per cent as opposed to 9.3 per cent
among males.
In the age period 15 to 24, pulmonary tuberculosis overshadows all
other causes of death in importance. In this group it accounts for
40.4 per cent of the mortality; the corresponding figure for males is
only 33.8 per cent, the relative index being 119.5. It is doubtless
in the earlier ages that the influence of housewives and of domestic
servants is lessened, to a considerable extent, by the other gainful
occupations, and it is to this fact that so large a proportionate tuber
culosis mortality may be attributed.
This figure would be even
larger if it were not for the cause of death that is second in impor
tance, namely, the puerperal state, which accounts for 11.5 per cent
of the deaths. This element has the effect of diminishing consider
ably the figures for all other causes, so that comparisons with the
corresponding percentages for males may be made only with caution.
Organic diseases of the heart are responsible for 6.9 per cent, and
here again the corresponding percentage for males is less— 5.8. Acci
dental violence is remarkably low, accounting for only 3.5 per cent
of the deaths, as opposed to 19.2 per cent in the other sex.
At ages 25 to 34 tuberculosis of the lungs is still of primary impor
tance, with proportionate mortality of 36.8 percent. This is slightly
less than that of men; the relative index is 90.0. This cause is fol
lowed by the puerperal state, with 14.0 per cent. The fact has
already been emphasized that the proportionate mortality from this
cause has the effect of lowering the percentages from the other
causes. Organic diseases of the heart are again high, accounting for
7 per cent of the mortality. They are followed by Bright’s disease
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
71
(4.6 per cent). Pneumonia is again rather low, with a proportionate
mortality of 4.1 per cent, and the correlation of this fact with the
low accident rate indicates clearly the lack of participation by women
in the rougher and more exposed occupations.
At ages 35 to 44 tuberculosis of the lungs still leads, accounting for
22.6 per cent of the mortality. By this time the percentage for women
has become considerably lower than that for men, which is 32.9 per
cent. Cancer is second in order of importance, with a percentage of
10.4. This is very high in contrast with the other sex; the relative
index is 452.2. Organic diseases of the heart account for 10.0 per
cent— also a rather high proportionate mortality.
At ages 45 to 54 cancer takes first place, with the surprisingly high
percentage of 16.6, as opposed to only 5.9 per cent among males.
The index, in comparison with males of the same age class, is thus
281.4. It is evident that, as the puerperal state ceases to be an
important element in the female mortality figures, its place is taken
by cancer. The very high proportion of cancer of the breast, and
of other forms of cancer peculiar to women, has the same effect as
the puerperal state in making the remaining percentages correspond
ingly lower. Organic diseases of the heart are second, with a pro
portionate mortality of 13.9 per cent, and Bright's disease accounts
for 11.9 per cent. Pulmonary tuberculosis has fallen into fourth
place, with a mortality of 9.7 per cent; the corresponding figure
for males is almost twice as high. Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy,
and paralysis show the rather high proportionate mortality of 8.4
per cent; the index is 161.5. By this time the puerperal state, which
had already begun to decrease in importance, accounts for only 0.2
per “cent of the deaths.
At ages 55 to 64 organic diseases of the heart take the first place;
they account for 18.7 per cent of the mortality, as opposed to 15.9
per cent among males. Cancer is responsible for 14.1 per cent of
the deaths—again an extremely high proportion. The index is 162.1.
Bright’s disease comes third, with 12.2 per cent, and cerebral hem
orrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis occupy fourth place, with 11.6 per
cent. By this time tuberculosis has dropped to 4.4 per cent.
At ages 65 and over organic diseases of the heart play a still more
important part than they did before; they are responsible for 20.8
per cent of the mortality. Next comes cerebral hemorrhage, apo
plexy, and paralysis with 14.1 per cent; Bright’s disease accounts
for 11.5 per cent, cancer for 9.0 per cent, and pneumonia for 6.9 per
cent. Accidental violence accounts for 3.4 per cent of the mortality;
deaths from this cause increase slightly during the last four age
periods, but they are at no time equal to the corresponding figure for
males.
72
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH, BY CAUSE, IN ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS
COMBINED.
As has been seen, the several causes of death become prominent
in the mortality records at various periods of life, some being more
important in the early years, others at the more advanced ages.
The following table indicates for the various causes the average age
at death, in ascending order, as well as the corresponding figures for
males:
T a b le
4 7 .—AVER AG E AGE OF DECEDENTS, FOR EACH OF TH E SPECIFIED CAUSES OF
D E A T H , B Y SE X .
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Average age at death
of—
Cause of death.
Females.
Males.
29.0
31.6
31.1
34.0
47.5
34.1
37.1
36.7
43.1
43.1
41.8
44.3
45.8
44.4
"41.1
47.9
46.1
50.5
Accidental violence
..................................... .............................................................
39.3
53.3
Cirrhosis of the liver............................................................................................................
52.0
54.6
48.1
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined).....................................................................................
55.8
Cancer (all forms)...................................................................................................................
57.8
56.3
55.1
Bright’s disease.....................................................................................................................
56.9
49.7
57.4
Organic diseases of the heart.............................................................................................
55.6
58.4
53.3
Influenza
..........................................................................................................................
60.3
54.9
Chronic rheumatism and gout..........................................................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis.............................................................
62.0
60.9
63. 4
Acute and chronic bronchitis..............................................................................................
59.9
51.1
47.9
All causes..................................................................................................................................
Puerperal state .....................................................................................................................
Typhoid fever.........................................................................................................................
Chronic lead poisoning.......................................................................................................
Tuberculosis o f the lungs.....................................................................................................
Suicide (allforms)..................................................................................................................
Alcoholism .............................................................................................................................
Occupational and chronic poisonings, excluding lead poisoning............................
Acute articular rheumatism..............................................................................................
The fact that women attain a higher average age than men has
already been pointed out. The average age of decedents from the
puerperal state, 29, indicates that the influence of this cause is
limited to the earlier age classes. Women die of tuberculosis at an
earlier age than men. Female suicides are, on the average, much
younger than males. On the other hand, the contrary is true with
respect to the respiratory diseases (pneumonia and bronchitis),
influenza, and diabetes.
MORTALITY, BY OCCUPATION.
We shall now take up the mortality of the more important occupa
tional groups. The deaths occurring in each occupation from the
principal causes will be enumerated, and the percentage of each
cause to all causes in the respective age classes will be determined.
The figures for each occupation will be compared with the corre
sponding ones for all occupations (Table 46), which will be con
sidered the standard.
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
73
HOUSEWIVES AND HOUSEKEEPERS.!
There were 88,151 deaths among housewives and housekeepers.
The following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by ago
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all specified occupations:
4 8 .—N U M BER AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG HOUSE
W IV E S AND HOUSEKEEPERS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L SPECI
FIED OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E FEM ALES.
T a b le
Age periods (years).
Ages
15
years
and
over.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-G4
Deaths....................................................................... 88,151
Item.
65 and
over.
HOUSEWIVES AND HOUSEKEEPEKS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
5,202
10,074
11,425
13,881
19,786
27,783
100.0
5.9
11.4
13.0
15.7
22.4
31.5
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
There is a preponderance of deaths in the later age periods; fully
69.6 per cent occur after the age of 44. The average age at death is
53.3 years; this is higher than the average age of all white females in
specified occupations, namely, 51.1.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 4 9 . — N UM BER
AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
.H O U S E W IV E S AN D H OU SEK EEPER S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O VE R —
W H IT E FEM ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
5,202 10,074 11,425 13,881 19,786 27,783
Number of deaths................................... 88,151
799
1,093
10,590
9,097
1,725
0.9
1.2
12.0
10.3
2.0
3.9
.4
37.4
.7
.5
2.2
.5
34.5
2.9
.6
1.5
.7
21.8
10.4
.8
0.8
1; 1
9.5
16.6
2.2
0.3
1.3
4.3
14.1
3.5
0.1
1.9
1.8
9.0
2.0
36.0
60.1
36.9
56.4
58.6
7,984
13,512
1,259
5,257
1,272
8,958
3,609
545
2,305
20,146
9.1
15.3
1.4
6.0
1.4
10.2
4.1
.6
2.6
22.9
.4
5.9
.3
3.3
.1
2.8
20.0
2.1
2.7
19.5
1.2
6.9
.3
4.1
.8
4.8
16.5
i.a
2.1
21.3
3.3
9.9
.4
5.3
2.1
8.8
7. 7
1.1
1.8
24.4
8.5
13.8
.6
5.7
2.5
12.2
.2
.6
2.4
23.3
11.8
18.6
1.5
6.7
1.6
12.2
14.2
20.8
2.9
6.8
1.1
11.6
.3
2.4
21.4
.i
3.3
24.4
62.5
59.1
65.0
56.3
53.7
57.3
29.2
39.4
55.0
................................. 88,151
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
300.0
100.0
100.0
Typhoid fever..........................................
Influenza ................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes.....................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Org&nic diseases of the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis...............
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Cirrhosis of the liver...............................
Bright’s disease........................................
Puerperal state.........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence... - .........................
All other causes........................................
Total.
15-24
Aver
age
age at
death.
iThis title includes only women who manage households in family life.
excluded.)
53.3
(Domestic servants are
BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
u
For all ages, housewives and housekeepers constitute 86.0 per cent
of the total. At the later age periods, however, this percentage is
considerably greater, since the members of'the other gainful occu
pations are to a very large extent young women.* It is, therefore, in
the earlier ages that the most marked differences between the group of
housewives and housekeepers and the general group will be found.
Thus, in the first two age periods, 15 to 24 and 25 to 34, we find the pro
portions of deaths from the puerperal state to total deaths 20.0 per cent
and 16.5 per cent, respectively, as against 11.5 per cent and 14.0 per
cent in the general group. This is accounted for by the fact that the
other occupied females, who are largely represented in these two age
periods, are often unmarried women, and, as we shall see in later
tables, have a low proportionate mortality from the puerperal state.
The proportionate mortality from tuberculosis is lower in the earlier
age periods among housewives and housekeepers than among all oc
cupied females, probably due to the nonindustrial character of their
work. In the age period 35 to 44 the two sets of figures approach
a very close agreement, and in the remaining age periods of life the
figures are virtually interchangeable. The housewives and house
keepers constitute so large a part of the total group that it is not at
all surprising to find this very close correspondence. As we have
already considered the main facts with reference to the proportionate
mortality of all occupied females, it is unnecessary to repeat the
details with regard to this occupation.
DOMESTIC SERVANTS, i
There were 4,235 deaths occurring among domestic servants. The
following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods,
and the corresponding distribution in all specified occupations:
5 0 — N UM BER AND PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG DOMES
TIC SERVANTS, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L SPECIFIED OCCU
PATIONS—W H IT E FEM ALES.
T a b le
Item.
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
DOMESTIC SERVANTS.
Deaths......................................................................
4,235
409
524
645
843
9S4
830
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
9.7
12.4
15.2
19.9
23.2
19.6
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
1 This title includes maids, servants, home laundresses, nurse girls, cooks (home), personal servants,
companions.
CAUSES OF DEATH JBY OCCUPATION.
75
The deaths are more largely represented in the middle periods of
life in this occupation than in the general group. Thus 35.1 per cent
of all deaths among domestic servants occurred between the ages of
35 and 54, while the corresponding percentage for all specified occu
pations was only 28.5. The average age at death, 49.1 years, is
slightly lower than that of the general group, 51.1.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
5 1 .—NU M BER AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
DOM ESTIC SE R V A N T S, B Y AG E PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O VER —W H IT E FEM ALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Number of deaths...................................
4,235
Typhoid fever...........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes.......... .........................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis . . .
..........
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Acute and chronic bronchitis...............
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined). . . .
Bright's disease........................................
Puerperal state.........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
41
673
440
62
Total.
..
..........................
278
618
43
277
414
59
67
218
1,045
4,235
Per
cent.
1.0
15.9
10.4
1.5
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
409
524
645
843
984
830
5.1
39.1
.7
.5
.5
6.6
5.4
14.6
1.0
6.5 ' " 3 *2 '
2.2
9.8
1.4
6.6
1.6
5.4
5.1
8.3
24.7
23.0
100.0
100.0
Aver
age
age at
death.
1.3
39.1
2.7
.4
0.6
26.5
11.3
1.4
0.6
7. 7
16.0
1.9
0.2
5.0
13.7
2.0
0.2
2.8
9.6
1.6
31.3
35.3
53.8
54.5
1.0
7.8
.4
4.2
5.9
4.6
3.2
3.8
25.6
3.3
11.3
.3
3.9
9.0
1.1
2.2
3.4
25.7
6.6
12.3
.7
9.1
11.7
.1
1.1
6.8
25.4
9.9
20.1
1.2
7.4
12.8
11.7
21.7
2 5
8.1
11.0
.3
5.7
21.7
.2
3.5
27.1
58.9
55.1
60.9
53.6
53.5
26.9
33.5
45.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
49.1
The proportionate mortality from suicide is high in every age
period (with the exception of ages 55 to 64, where it is the same for
domestic servants and for all specified occupations) and particularly
in the earlier ages. Thus the percentage for domestic servants at
ages 15 to 24 is 5.4, whereas the corresponding figure for all specified
occupations is 1.9. Similarly, accidental violence accounts for a high
percentage of the deaths in each period. At ages 15 to 24, for example,
the proportionate mortality from this cause is 8.3 per cent among
domestic servants, as opposed to 3.5 per cent in the general group.
The relative index is 237.1. Tuberculosis of the lungs is higher than
normal for all age periods except 15 to 24 and 45 to 54. Thus at ages
35 to 44 the proportionate mortality is 26.5 among domestic servants,
as opposed to 22.6 in all specified occupations. The percentages of
deaths from the puerperal state are low. At ages 15 to 24 the fig
ure for domestic servants is 6.6 per cent, in contrast to 11.5 per
cent in all specified occupations, the relative index being 57.4. In
the following age period the figures are even more strikingly differ
ent— 4.6 per cent and 14.0 per cent, respectively.
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
76
DRESSMAKERS AND GARMENT W ORKERS.1
There were 2,172 deaths among dressmakers and garment workers.
The following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age
periods, and the corresponding distribution in all specified occupa
tions :
52 .—N UM BER A N D PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG DRESS
M AKERS A N D GARMENT W O RK ER S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A LL
SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E FEM ALES.
T a b le
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over.
d r e s s m a k e r s ani> g a b m e n t w o r k e r s .
Deaths.......................................................................
2,172
462
365
355
433
311
246
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
21.3
16.8
16.3
19.9
14.3
11.3
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
The average age at death is 42.0; this is considerably below the
normal—51.1. The deaths are distributed, for the most part,
through youth and middle age. Thus 38.1 per cent of the deaths
occurred ao ages 15 to 34, as opposed to 22.2 per cent in all specified
occupations, and 36.2 per cent occurred at ages 35 to 54, as opposed
to 28.5 per cent in all specified occupations.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
T a b l e 5 3 . — NUM BER
AND PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
DRESSM AKERS AN D GARMENT W ORK ER S, B Y AG E PER IO D S, 15 Y E A R S AN D O V E R W H IT E FEM ALES.
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.— Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Cause of death.
Num Per
ber. cent.
Number of deaths...................................
2,172
Typhoid fever..........................................
Influenza....................................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Bright’s disease........................................
Puerperal state.........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes of death.......................
36
25
604
224
1.7
1.2
27.8
10.3
90
273
123
159
23
28
48
539
Total................................................
2,172
Per cent of deaths daring age period
(years)—
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
462
365
355
433
311
246
3.5
.4
48.3
1.9
2.7
1.4
52.1
1.9
1.4
24.8
1.2
2.8
13.6
20.1
1.0
10.3
18.3
4.9
11.0
4.1
12.6
5.7
7.3
1.1
1.3
2.2
24.8
6.3
4.1
2.6
1.9
2.4
4.3
24.3
.8
7.4
3.6
4.4
2.5
1.9
1.1
20.2
1.4
11.0
5.4
8.7
1.4
1.4
-1.4
32.7
6.S
14.1
7.4
8.8
18.6
8.0
11.6
9.8
24.0
6.1
10.6
1.2
2.5
21.4
.6
22.6
2.4
30.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
10.4
9 .0
1.2
100.0 . 100.0
Aver
age
age at
death.
29.6
48.3
31.5
51.0
57.8
49.7
45.9
49.1
27.7
29.5
37.2
42.0
i This title includes dressmakers and garment workers carrying on their occupation at home; women
in the clothing industry (tailor shops and factories) engaged in manufacturing suits, coats, cloaks, and
overalls (buttonhole makers, clothing designers,, machine operators, and clothing trimmers); and other
clothing workers (makers of waists, ties, caps, handkerchiefs, scarfs, shirts, collars, cuffs, corsets* gloves,
and other smaller articles of clothing).
77
CAUSES OF DEATH BY OCCUPATION.
Tuberculosis of the lungs is much above the average at every age pe
riod. Thus there is a percentage of 48.3 from this cause at ages 15 to
24, and of 52.1 at ages 25 to 34; the relative indices are 119.6 and 141.6,
respectively. The relative index shows a marked tendency to increase
with advancing age, and the nature of the occupation is clearly
concerned in this increase; in other occupations we have noted a
decrease in the later years. Cancer becomes important at the higher
ages. It accounts for 20.1 per cent of the deaths at ages 45 to 54,
in contrast to only 16.6 per cent in the general group; the relative
index is 121.1. The mortality from the puerperal state is very low.
At ages 15 to 24 it has a percentage of 1.9; the relative index is only
16.5.
TEXTILE-MILL WORKERS.*
There were 1,742 deaths among textile-mill workers. The follow
ing table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age periods,
and the corresponding distribution in all specified occupations:
T a b l e 5 4 . — NUM BER
AN D PER CENT OF D EATH S FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG T E X T IL E M ILL W O RK ER S, B Y AGE PERIODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L SPECIFIED OCCU
PATIONS—W H IT E F EM ALES.
Item.
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-&4
65 and
over.
TEXTILE-MILL WORKERS.
Deaths.......................................................................
1,742
663
332
291
248
157
51
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
38.1
19.1
16.7
14.2
9.0
2.9
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths..................................................
Thirty-eight and one-tenth per cent of all deaths occurred at ages
15 to 24, as opposed to 10.1 per cent in all specified occupations;
furthermore, 73.9 per cent of the deaths in this occupation occurred
before the attainment of age 45, as against 35.3 per cent for all occu
pations. As a result, we find the low average age at death of 33.9
years.
Chief among the causes accounting for these phenomena is tubercu
losis, which is strikingly prominent in every age period and particu
larly in the earlier years of life. This is evidenced in the following
table, which analyzes the mortality of each age class, by cause of
death. For all ages the relative index is 246.5. In the age period
15 to 24 the proportionate mortality from this cause is 50.2 per cent,
while the corresponding figure for all specified occupations is only
40.4 per cent; the relative index is 124.3. In comparison with the
tuberculosis mortality of male textile workers at ages 15 to 24 the
i The inclusions under this title are the same as in the case of males.
BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
78
relative index is even more striking, 136.4- In the age division 25
to 34 the index rises to 132.6, when compared with all other specified
female occupations, but is reduced somewhat in the next two periods,
to 124-8 and 128.9, respectively. These findings are in accord with
those of Perry,1who, in his investigation of cotton-mill operatives in
Fall River, reported that in the corresponding age periods the death
rates from pulmonary tuberculosis among cotton-mill operatives
were far in excess of the corresponding rates for females in other
occupations.
55 .—NUM BER A N D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
T E X T IL E -M IL L W O RK ER S, B Y AG E PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O VER —W H IT E FEM ALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
Aver
age
65 and age at
death.
over.
Number of deaths...................................
1,742
663
332
291
248
157
51
Typhoid fever..........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Bright’s disease........................................
Puerperal state.........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
A ll other causes........................................
65
618
108
3.7
35.5
6.2
7.1
50.2
.2
2.7
48.8
3.0
2.1
28.2
9.3
0.8
12.5
14.9
0.6
4.5
17.2
5.9
11.8
67
153
72
82
43
25
52
457
3.8
8.8
4.1
4.7
2.5
1.4
3.0
26.2
.8
3.6
3.3
3.0
3.3
1.4
3.1
24.2
.6
6.3
2.4
3.3
3.9
1.8
2.1
25.0
4.1
12.7
3.8
3.4
2.7
1.4
1.3
30.8
9.3
15.7
7.3
6.9
0.6
15.9
5.7
11.5
19.6
13.7
7.8
11.8
2.0
1.6
29.0
.6
9.6
24.8
Total................................................
1,742
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
23.0
26.7
48.8
50.5
42.0
38.6
41.6
26.2
32.3
3.9
33.8
25.5 ...........
100.0
33.9
As was found among male textile operatives, typhoid fever shows
a high proportional figure. For all ages the relative index is 308.3.
In the age period 15 to 24 the highest proportionate mortality is ob
served. The percentage of deaths from this cause is 7.1 among
textile-mill workers but only 4.8 in the general group. The relative
index is 147.9. There is also found a high proportionate mortality
from suicide. This is most evident in the age period 45 to 54. At
these ages 2.0 per cent of all the deaths are from this cause, as against
.7 per cent in all specified occupations. The relative index is 285.7.
The proportionate mortality from the puerperal state is very low.
At ages 15 to 24 the percentage of deaths coming under this head is
only 3.3, as compared with 11.5 for all specified occupations. In the
following age group the figure is 3.9 as against 14.0.
CLERKS, BOOKKEEPERS, AND OFFICE ASSISTANTS.2
There were 1,235 deaths among clerks, bookkeepers, and office
assistants. The following table indicates the distribution of these
1 Perry, Arthur R ., M. D. Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives. In
U. S. Department of Labor Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United
States. Washington, D. C., 1912, p. 71.
2 This title includes clerks, bookkeepers, stenographers, typewriters, office girls, proof readers, copy
holders, and post-office clerks.
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION.
79
deaths by age periods, and the corresponding distribution in all speci
fied occupations:
T a b l e 5 6 . — NUM BER
AND PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM A L L CAUSES AMONG CLERKS,
BOOKKEEPERS, AN D OFFICE ASSISTAN TS, B Y AG E PERIODS, IN COMPARISON
W IT H A L L SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E FEM A LE S.
Ages
15 years
and
over.
Item.
Age periods (years).
15-24
25-34
45-54
35-44
55-64
65 and
over.
CLERKS, BOOKKEEPERS, AND OFFICE
ASSISTANTS.
Deaths......................................................................
1,235
699
353
127
29
16
11
Per cent of deaths..................................................
100.0
56.6
28.6
10.3
2.3
1.3
0.9
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths...................................................
Between the ages 15 and 34 the number of deaths is greatly in
excess of the average. Fully 85.2 per cent of all deaths occurred
within these limits, while the corresponding percentage for all speci
fied occupations was only 22.2. The average age at death is, accord
ingly, strikingly low, 26.1.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
5 7 . — NUM BER AND PER CENT OF D EATH S FORM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
CLERKS, BO OKKEEPERS, AN D OFFICE ASSIST AN T S, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S
AN D O VER —W H IT E FEM ALES.
T a b le
i r
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913. ]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
35-44
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
353
127
29
16
11
2.8
50.7
1.4
1.1
0.8
27.6
6.3
.8
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
(1)
(1)
C1)
0)
0)
0)
21.4
24.6
42.3
22.6
5.5
11.8
5.5
5.5
.8
1.6
1.6
32.2
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
(x)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
38.2
29.0
26.3
32.4
23.6
26.2
23.4
100.0
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
699
6.9
43.8
.4
1.6
.6
7.0
Number of deaths...................................
1,235
Typhoid fever..........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms)....................................
Diabetes....................................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart.................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined). . . .
Bright’s disease........................................
Puerperal state.........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes.......................................
59
524
27
16
4.8
42.4
2.2
1.3
18
100
44
43
19
26
50
309
1.5
8.1
3.6
3.5
1.5
2.1
4.0
25.0
2.7
2.0
2.4
5.0
24.0
.6
7.6
2.8
2.5
1.1
1.1
3.4
24.9
1,235
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total..............................................
3.6
Aver
age
age at
death.
26.1
1 Percentages omitted; numbers too small.
The proportionate mortality from pulmonary tuberculosis is
rather high between the ages of 15 and 44. At ages 15 to 24 it accounts
for 43.8 per cent of the mortality, while the corresponding figure for
56505°—Bull 207—17------6
80
BU LLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
all specified occupations is 40.4 per cent. The relative index is
108.4. In the next age group, 25 to 34, the proportionate mortality
of the general group drops to 36.8 per cent, but that of bookkeepers
and office assistants rises to 50.7 per cent, so that the relative index
is now 137.8. At ages 35 to 44 the decrease which is to be expected
does, indeed, take place, but the percentage for clerks, bookkeepers, and
office assistants is 27.6, while that of all specified occupations is only
22.6; the index is 122.1. Typhoid fever is also high in the first two
age periods. At ages 15 to 24, for example, it accounts for 6.9 per cent
of the mortality of clerks, bookkeepers, and office assistants, in com
parison with only 4.8 per cent of that of all specified occupations.
The figures for the puerperal state are very low. Thus the propor
tionate mortality from this cause was 2.0 per cent at ages 15 to 24,
as against 11.5 per cent in all specified occupations; at ages 25 to 34
the figures are in even more striking contrast, being 1.1 per cent and
14.0 per cent, respectively. The relative indices for the two age
classes are 17.U and 7.9, respectively.
STORE CLERKS AND SALESW OMEN.!
There were 794 deaths among store clerks and saleswomen. The
following table indicates the distribution of these deaths by age pe
riods, and the corresponding distribution in all specified occupations:
5 8 .—N U M BER AN D PER CENT OF D EAT H S FROM A L L CAUSES AM ONG STORE
C LER K S A N D SALESWOMEN, B Y A G E PER IODS, IN COMPARISON W IT H A L L SPECI
F IE D OCCUPATIONS—W H IT E F EM ALES.
T a b le
Age periods (years).
Item.
Ages
15 years
and
over
15-24
25-34
35-44
STORE CLERKS AND SALESWOMEN.
Per cent of deaths. - ..............................................
45-54
55-64
65
and
over.
794
413
198
109
47
15
12
100.0
52.0
24.9
13.7
5.9
1.9
1.5
100.0
10.1
12.1
13.1
15.4
21.0
28.4
ALL SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.
Per cent of deaths................................................
A great preponderance of deaths occurred in the early age periods.
Thus 52-0 per cent of the total mortality occurred at ages 15 to 24, as
against 10.1 per cent in all specified occupations. At ages 25 to 34 the
proportions were 24.9 per cent and 12.1 per cent among store clerks
and saleswomen, and in all occupations, respectively. The average
age at death is extremely low, being 28 years. This fact is to be
associated, of course, with the characteristic age distribution of women
engaged in this occupation.
iThis title includes store clerks, cashiers, saleswomen, and messengers; and department-store clerks,
buyers, and saleswomen.
81
CAUSES o r DEATH B Y OCCUPATION'.
The following table analyzes the mortality of each age class, by
cause of death:
5 9 .—NUM BER AN D PER CENT OF D E A T H S FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES AMONG
STORE C L E R K S A N D SALESW OM EN, B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 Y E A R S A N D O V E R W H IT E FEMALES.
T a b le
[Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.—Industrial department—Mortality experience, 1911 to 1913.]
Ages 15 years
and over.
Per cent of deaths during age period
(years)—
Aver
age
age
at
65 and
death.
over.
Cause of death.
Num
ber.
Per
cent.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
47
15
Number of deatks...................................
794
413
198
109
Typhoid fever..........................................
Tuberculosis of the lungs.......................
Cancer (all forms).....................................
Cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and
paralysis.................................................
Organic diseases of the heart................
Pneumonia (lobar and undefined)___
Bright’s disease........................................
Puerperal state.........................................
Suicide (all forms)...................................
Accidental violence.................................
All other causes........................................
23
307
41
2.9
38.7
5.2
4.1
46.5
1.0
2.5
40.9
1.5
0)
27.5
19.3
15
72
31
35
18
15
27
210
1.9
9.1
3.9
4.4
2.3
1.9
3.4
26.4
.5
7.7
2.2
2.2
3.4
2.4
3.4
26.6
1.0
6.6
7.1
5.1
2.0
1.5
3.5
28.3
C1)
9.2
0)
C1)
5.5
0)
Total................................................
794
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
8 8
0)
12
0)
(*)
0)
C1)
0)
C1)
’
8 8 8 8
8
8 8
0)
0)
0)
C1)
0)
0)
0)
0)
24.6
41.6
44.0
33.3
31.0
34.4
22.1
24.3
26.9
28.0
1Percentages omitted; numbers too small.
Tuberculosis of the lungs is rather prominent between ages 15 and
44. In the age period 15 to 24, for example, it is responsible for 46.5
per cent of the total mortality, while the percentage for all specified
occupations is only 40.4. The relative index is 115.1. Suicide is
above the average at ages 15 to 24 and 25 to 34. In the first age period
it accounts for 2.4 per cent of the mortality, as opposed to 1.9 per
cent in the general group; the relative index is therefore 126.S.
Accidental violence is also of importance in the first two age periods.
AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH, BY OCCUPATION.
The following table presents a recapitulation of the average age
at death, in ascending order, in the various specified occupations of
white females, as well as for all specified occupations taken together.
Average
age at
death.
Clerks, bookkeepers, and office assistants......................................... ...26.1
Store clerks and saleswomen............................................................. ...28. 0
Textile-mill workers...............................................................................33. 9
Dressmakers and garment workers.................................................... ...42. 0
Domestic servants...................................................................................49.1
Housewives and housekeepers........................................................... ...53. 3
All specified occupations.........................................................
51.1
It may be pointed out once more that the low figures in the first
three groups reflect the age distribution in the occupations in ques
tion much more clearly than influences bearing upon the occupational
mortality.
CONCLUSION.
Having set forth in detail the figures for the mortality of the vari
ous occupations, both male and female, we may now conclude with a
consideration of some general aspects of our data.
At the very outset it should be noted that caution must be exer
cised in drawing conclusions from the material here presented. The
fact has already been emphasized that the number of living policy
holders in each occupation was not available; consequently occu
pational death rates could not be determined. Difficulties are often
occasioned by inaccuracies in designating occupations and causes of
death. Furthermore, men occasionally shift from one occupation
to another because of physical deterioration; thus blacksmiths take up
less laborious work after their strength is lost, and men afflicted with
tuberculosis often secure outdoor employment. Only the terminal oc
cupations are then reported to the insurance company. Hence a death
which has been accelerated by the injurious influences prevailing in a
particular field of activity may frequently be so reported as to swell
the mortality of quite a different occupational group. Some oc
cupations start with a handicap from the very beginning, since
they attract principally men of poor physique or a particular race
whose general mortality is high. An industry may sometimes be
associated with a high mortality not so much because of any dele
terious influence inherent in it, but rather because those who enter
it are peculiarly susceptible to certain diseases and conditions.
These considerations must not be passed over lightly in any inter
pretation of mortality data with reference to the hazards involved
in the occupations.
Yet, in spite of these limitations, certain definite conclusions are
justified by our study. Two kinds of relationships have in general
been observed. In the first there is a clear and direct connection
between the cause of death and the occupation of the deceased.
Thus w^e note the obvious relation between the employment of lead
in certain industries and the high proportionate mortality from lead
poisoning; between the manufacture and sale of distilled liquors and
the high mortality from alcoholism; between exposure to moving
machines and the high mortality from accidents.
The relationships of the second group are of a more insidious char
acter. The injurious factors are usually discovered only after an
intensive examination of the conditions prevailing in the occupa
tions. Thus, when we consider a number of activities which give
83
84
BULLETIN OF TH E BUKEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
returns of a high proportionate mortality from tuberculosis we find
the presence of dust as a frequent concomitant to the industrial
process. The dust may be mineral, metallic, or vegetable. The in
fluence of sedentary employment and posture is also found, on
examination, to be important as a factor in the high tuberculosis
rate; this is exemplified by certain occupations like those of clerks,
bookkeepers, and office assistants, and of garment workers. In some
occupations the unfavorable influence of the work is not at once
evident, but makes itself increasingly felt with duration of service.
In a number of occupations interesting associations have been ob
served between one disease and another. Thus the occurrence of
an undue amount of alcoholism is associated almost invariably with
an excess of cirrhosis of the liver and of Bright’s disease, and fre
quently also with an undue amount of suicide. Where lead poisoning
results in many deaths, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis
are frequent; even where lead poisoning is not an important cause of
death, but where lead is in constant use, the proportionate mortality
from cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy, and paralysis is high.
A number of relationships of a varied nature may be pointed out.
The respiratory diseases are prominent where the industrial worker
is exposed to colds, drafts, and dampness (as among masons and
bricklayers), or to violent changes in temperature (as among team
sters, drivers, and chauffeurs). Organic diseases of the heart have
a high proportional frequency in cases where the work is heavy and
the cardiac powers are overtaxed (e. g., among iron molders). Suicide
is frequent where depressing influences are present (as among bakers
and cigar makers). Typhoid fever is high where questionable water
supplies are used (as among enginemen and trainmen, farmers, iron
molders, and laborers). Accidents ordinarily decrease as the dura
tion of service and experience increases (e. g., among enginemen and
trainmen, and railway track and yard workers).
It should be observed that mortality conditions, as we have dis
cussed them above, are not the only measures of the effect of indus
trial work. Men suffer from numerous occupational diseases which
do not directly cause death. Secondary and terminal diseases often
occur, which cover up the condition that originally caused or acceler
ated the death. It is therefore of the greatest importance that living
workers be examined, and that the diseases from which they suffer
be accurately recorded. Therein lies the great advantage of periodic
examinations of workers and, in particular, of the recent investiga
tions of Hayhurst, Schereschewsky, and others who have recorded
the physical defects of large numbers of persons engaged in various
industries. Their findings often explain the facts as disclosed in studies
of occupational mortality, and supplement these facts with a wealth
of detail which mortality returns can not offer.
APPENDIXES.
APPENDIX A.—COMPARATIVE POPULATION MORTALITY.
The subject of the foregoing study has been the experience of industrial policy
holders. While we have reason to believe that this experience is representative of
wage earners generally, it is not entirely representative of the occupied population as
a whole. The virtual absence of the professional classes and the, perhaps, lighter
representation of the better paid and more skillful workers, who are found in other
departments of the company, result in a mortality higher than that found in the
population. This is especially true for insured males, who, at ages 15 and over, give
a mortality 5 per cent higher than that found in the registration area of the United
States. The differences are slight at the earlier ages (under 25) and at the most
advances ages (65 and over). The maximum difference between the population and
industrial insurance mortality rates is found in the age period 35 to 44, when the rate
for males is 47 per cent higher than the corresponding rate for males in the population.
The differences between the rates for female policyholders and for females in the
registration area are not so marked. The maximum difference is found in the age
period 55 to 64, when there is an excess of nearly 12 per cent in the industrial experi
ence . The higher rates for the insured persons may well be expected in view of the gen
eral and special hazards to which working men and women of the country are exposed.
This condition is further emphasized by a comparison of the proportionate mortality
for the principal causes of death for insured males with the corresponding figures for
males in certain specified occupations in the registration area. The following table
has been prepared from data in the United States Census report on Mortality Statistics,
1909:
,
Data in the United States Census Report on Mortality Statistics 1909.
N UM BER AND PERCENTAGE OF D EATH S FROM PRINCIPAL CAUSES IN A L L SPECI
FIED OCCUPATIONS: MALES IN R EGISTR ATIO N A R E A OF U N ITED STATES, 1909,
B Y AGE PERIODS, 15 TO 84 Y E A R S.1
Age periods (years).
cause oi ueaui.
Typhoid fever......................
Tuberculosis of the lungs. .
Cancer—all forms................
Rheumatism........................
Diabetes...............................
Alcoholism............................
Chronic lead poisoning.......
Other occupational and
chronic poisonings..........
Cerebral hemorrhage, apo
plexy and paralysis.........
Organic diseases of the
heart..................................
Acute and chronic bron
chitis .................................
Pneumonia—all forms3___
Pleurisy................................
Cirrhosis of the liver...........
Bright’s disease..................
Suicide— all forms.............
Accidents and injuries4. . .
All other causes..................
Ages, 15-84
No.
15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-84
Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
cent. No. cent. No. cent. No. cent. No. cent. No. cent. No:
4,650 2.3 1,414 8.1 1,438 5.0 870 2.7 538 1.5 255
30,994 15.2 5,092 29.0 8.880 31.0 7,675 23.6 5,140 14.4 2,707
.8 379 1.3 1,087 3.3 2,420 6.8 3,364
11,358 5.6 138
.6 137
.5 169
.5 171
.5 185
1,037
.5 107
.6 225
.8 272
2,368 1.2 113
.8 479 1.3 610
1,928
49
.3 318 1.1 623 1.9 521 1.5 280
.9
22
2 (2)
80 C1)
11 (2)
20
.1
.1
18
104
.1
9
.1
21
.1
17
14,709
7.2
103
.6
349
1.2
889
24,245 11.9
628
3.6 1,383
4.8 2,501
.1
16 (2)
2.7 2,094
19
Per
cent.
.7
135
.2
7.5 1,500 2.8
9.4 3,970 7.3
268
.5
.5
1.7
669 1.2
.8
137
.3
7 (2)
.1
.1
22 (2)
5.9 3,643 10.1 7,631 14.1
7.7 4,028 11.3 5,531 15.4 10,174 18.7
870 1.6
1,534
.2
.8
.7
.4 165
39
73
.3 116
.5 271
16,496 8.1 1,139 6.5 2,105 7.4 3,075 9.5 3,211 9.0 2,974 8.3 3,992 7.4
792
.4
64
.4 136
.4
158
.3
.4 162
.5 128
.5 144
44
3,877 1.9
8t7 1.5
.3 267
.9 691 2.1 1,078 3.0 980 2.7
17,460 8.5 334 1.9 1,133 4.0 2,130 6 6 3,470 9 7 4,213 11.7 6,180 11.4
512
5,392 2.6 528 3.0 1,069 3.7 1,202 3.7 1,258 3.5 823 2.3
.9
21,821 10.7 4,063 23.1 5,260 18.4 4,674 14.4 3,639 10.2 2,252 6.3 1,933 3.6
45,732 22.4 3,687 21.0 5,451 19.0 6,322 19.5 7,285 20.4 7,698 21.4 15,289 28.2
1 The limitations on comparison between this table and the one shown on pages 8 and 9 are: This popula
tion table for ages 15 to 84 covers approximately the same divisional'periods of life as the insurance table
for ages 15 and over.
2 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
8 “ Pneumonia” in this table includes “ broncho-pneumonia;” the insurance table excludes “ broncho
pneumonia.”
4 “ Accidents and injuries ” in this table includes “ homicides;” the insurance table excludes “ homicides.”
85
8G
BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Interesting relations appear in the comparison of these figures with those given in
Table 2, page 9. In all age periods typhoid fever shows a higher proportion of deaths
in the male population than in the corresponding age periods of the insured. This
is explained by the fact that the Registration Area includes a large rural population
while the industrial policyholders are located mostly in urban centers, where typhoid
fever rates are lower. On the other hand, tuberculosis of the lungs has a uniformly
higher representation among insured males. The maximum difference between the
two experiences is in the age period 25 to 34, when the proportion of tuberculosis
deaths among the insured is nearly one-third greater than the proportion of population
deaths. Cancer shows higher proportions in the general population. Rheumatism
(acute and chronic), alcoholism, cerebral hemorrhage, apoplexy and paralysis, all
show very much the same conditions in both experiences. Organic diseases of the
heart show higher proportions among the insured at the early ages; between 35 and 65
years, the proportions are very much the same in both the population and insurance
experiences. After age 65 the industrial group shows a higher proportion of organic
heart diseases, but not too much emphasis can be placed on this difference. It is
impossible to compare the two experiences for pneumonia, broncho-pneumonia hav
ing been excluded from the industrial tables and included in the published popula
tion data. Cirrhosis of the liver and Bright’s disease are more highly represented in
the industrial deaths than in the general population statistics. Suicide is lower in
the insured group at virtually every age period. The figures for accidental violence
are not comparable since homicides are excluded from the insurance figures while
they are included in the population data. This explains, for the most part, the lower
proportions of accidental violence in the insured group for it might very well be ex
pected that the greater accidental hazards of the industrial population would pro
duce higher figures from these causes.
A similar comparison between the experience of insured females and those in the
population at large is not called for since these two groups show approximately the
same mortality rates at the several age periods.
APPENDIX B.—OCCUPATION DISTRIBUTION OF LIVING POLICY
HOLDERS—METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE CO.
Subsequent to the completion of the foregoing mortality study, an investigation
was made into the occupations represented among persons who had recently been
insured in the industrial department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. The
group examined consisted of 79,426 white men and women, 15 years and over,
insured during the months of October, November, and December, 1915. It was
hoped that the findings might throw some light on the constitution by occupation of
the outstanding group of policyholders.
The following table shows the principal occupations found among 28,479 occupied
white males:
CAUSES OF DEATH B Y OCCUPATION-----APPENDIX B .
87
T able 1 .—N U M BER A N D PER CENT OF 28,479 W H IT E M ALES, AGES 15 Y E A R S A N D
O V E R , IN SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS AMONG L IV IN G P O LICYH O LD ER S IN S U R E D
DU R IN G OCTOBER, N O V E M B E R , AN D D ECEM BE R , 1915.
Per
cent of
total.
Occupation.
Num
ber.
Laborers (undefined)...................
Teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs.
Clerks, bookkeepers, and office
assistants............... ...........................
Carpenters............................................
Farmers and farm laborers...............
Machinists............................................
Painters, paper hangers, and varnishers...............................................
Policemen, watchmen, and guards.
Store clerks and salesmen.................
Textile-mill workers..........................
Merchants and storekeepers.............
Saloon keepers and bartenders........
Railway track and yard workers...
Janitors and building employees.. .
Masons and bricklayers.....................
Iron molders........................................
Coal miners..........................................
Shoemakers.........................................
Stationary engineers and firemen..
Children, students, and scholars...
Blacksmiths.........................................
Professional service............................
Agents and canvassers......................
2,669
2,102
9.4
7.4
1,338
963
939
1,531
4.7
3.4
3.3
5.4
588
245
831
1,508
449
212
536
290
221
329
487
495
352
1,487
223
243
457
2.1
.9
2.9
5.3
1.6
.7
1.9
1.0
.8
1.2
1.7
1.7
1.2
5.2
.8
.9
1.6
Num
ber.
Per
cent of
total.
372
305
229
282
43
168
260
65
316
137
113
93
63
206
168
151
38
149
324
50
6,452
1.3
1.1
.8
1.0
.2
.6
.9
.2
1.1
.5
.4
.3
.2
.7
.6
.5
.1
.5
1.1
.2
22.6
All occupations (excluding
“ retired” ).............................. 28,479
100.0
Occupation.
Plumbers, gas fitters, and steam
fitters.................................................
Tailors and garment workers..........
Compositors and printers.................
Railway enginemen and trainmen.
Street railway employees.................
Hostlers and stablemen....................
Hucksters and peddlers....................
Sailors and marine workers.............
Iron and steel mill workers.............
W aiters.................................................
Cabinet and furniture makers.........
Cigar makers and tobacco workers.
Leather goods workers......................
Bakers..................................................
Longshoremen and stevedores........
Tinners and tinware workers..........
Street and sewer cleaners.................
Electricians..........................................
Barbers.................................................
Coopers..............................................
All other occupations...................
The largest single group is the laborers, who compose 9.4 per cent of the total.
Next come teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs with 7.4 per cent. More skilled occupa
tions are also represented in considerable numbers. In fact, we find a sequence of
occupations not so very different from that shown in Table 1, page 7, for the occupa
tions of the deceased policyholders. The actual percentage in any occupation is not
the same among the living as among the dead, for a number of reasons. The deceased
have a higher average age than the living policyholders and certain occupations are
more likely to be represented in the one group than in the other on that account.
In addition, the higher mortality involved in some of the occupations will determine
a higher proportion among the dead than is found among the living.
The occupations found among 50,947 white females 15 years and over are shown in
the following table:
2 .—NUM BER AND PER CENT OF 50,947 W H IT E FEMALES, AGES 15 Y EAR S AND
O VER , IN SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS AMONG LIVING POLICYHOLDERS INSURED
DURING OCTOBER, N O VEM BER , AND DECEM BER, 1915.
T a b le
Num
ber.
Per
cent of
total.
Housewives and housekeepers........ 39,958
1,889
Students...............................................
Textile workers (cotton, silk, wool
1,623
en, and linen mill workers)..........
1,563
Domestic servants..............................
983
Bookkeepers and office assistants..
461
Store clerks and saleswomen...........
Dressmakers and garment workers
407
(at home)
358
Other clothing workers.....................
304
Waitresses............................................
78.4
3.7
Occupation.
3.2
3.1
1.9
.9
.8
.7
.6
Num
ber.
Per
cent of
total.
Telephone operators..........................
Laundry workers...............................
Shoe factory operatives....................
Cigar makers and tobacco workers..
Clothing operatives in factory.........
Department-store clerks...................
Merchants and storekeepers.............
All other occupations........................
233
229
220
201
168
161
108
2,081
0.5
.4
.4
.4
.3
.3
.2
4.1
All occupations........................
50,947
100.0
Occupation.
88
BULLETIN
OF TH E BUREAU
OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The above figures may be compared with those in Table 44, page 67, for the occupa
tions of the deceased white females. Housewives and housekeepers account for 78.4
per cent of the total as against 86.0 per cent among the dead. Domestic servants are
represented in a proportion of 3.1 per cent among the living as against 4.1 per cent
among the dead. These figures, however interesting they may be as an indication of
the constitution by occupation of newly insured persons, do not have the same value
as an index of the constitution of the living female policyholders as a groui), as do the
corresponding figures for the males. This is due to the fact that many of the fe
males gainfully employed in specific occupations sooner or later become housewives.
The tendency to shift occupations is much more pronounced among females than
among males.
o
@FedFRASER